Researcher Spotlight: Camilla Nykjaer
In the first of our new Researcher Spotlight series, we spoke to Dr Camilla Nykjaer about her inspirations, what impact means to her, and bridging the gap between policy and practice.
Dr Nykjaer’s work focuses on improving the pregnancy and postnatal experience through a better understanding of healthy lifestyle behaviours, including physical activity and its impact on health, especially for women in underserved communities. As Programme Leader of the University’s Sports and Exercise Medicine postgraduate programme, she is also helping to inspire the next generation of researchers in this field.
How would you describe your research in one sentence?
My research looks at how we can better support healthy lifestyle behaviours in pregnancy and following birth, with a specific focus on underserved populations (for example, ethnic minorities or those with specific disease profiles).
Tell us about your career story. How did you get into research?
I feel like I was a child when I first realised that research was for me. I remember my parents getting chickens when I was 13, and I decided to put together a whole encyclopaedia of chicken breeds with strengths and weaknesses. Anyone who knows me knows I love a good deep dive, and I think that curiosity is a real strength of research.
More seriously, I probably realised I was destined to work in research during my undergraduate degree. I did my undergraduate degree here in Leeds at Leeds Beckett University in Public Health Nutrition, and during a research methods session the lecturer asked if anyone wanted a career in research. I was one of the few who put my hand up.
After that, I did a summer placement with Professor Janet Cade at the University of Leeds. She later became my PhD supervisor, and now I’m co-supervising a PhD student with her, which feels very full circle.
In terms of my research topic, I’ve always had a passion for women’s health. My MSc and PhD focused on lifestyle behaviours in pregnancy, looking at how those behaviours relate to pregnancy outcomes and health outcomes for babies. That really landed me in the space I’m in now.
There’s also a personal element. My mum struggled to get pregnant and had a very difficult pregnancy. She was advised not to move at all for six months, which we now know is not evidence-based advice. That experience, combined with my research training, really shaped my interest in maternal health and physical activity.
What first sparked your interest in this field?
It was probably a slow realisation that health research hasn’t always fully reflected women’s experiences, which helped shape the questions I now focus on.
Over time, I became more aware of the disconnect between policy and lived experience – there’s guidance, and then there’s what actually happens in practice. That gap is what drives my work.
How would you describe what you do to someone outside academia?
This is easy because my work is so relatable. We’ve all been born, and most people know someone who’s been pregnant.
Pregnancy and the postnatal period are moments where people take a step back and reflect on their own health, and they’re often more motivated to make healthy lifestyle changes. My work looks at how services can support those changes in ways that are more feasible, realistic, and practical for both patients and practitioners.
The only time I struggle is if I have to explain it in Danish, my native language, because my whole research journey has been in the UK, so I don’t have the terminology. I’m still not sure my parents fully understand what I do!
What are you currently working on?
I work on a portfolio of interlinked projects all focused on supporting women to make healthy lifestyle choices during pregnancy and the postnatal period.
One example is the Athena Pathway, an enhanced care pathway for pregnant women with class 3 obesity, a BMI above 40. These women are at increased risk of a range of adverse outcomes, such as gestational diabetes and caesarean delivery, so they need additional care.
I’m working with Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Leeds Maternity Care to listen to service user feedback, assess whether the pathway is evidence-informed, and evaluate it. Women referred to this pathway can also take part in a community physical activity programme, another one of my projects, Bump and Baby Fit, delivered by Active Leeds, offering free yoga and swimming to women at risk of gestational diabetes.
Who supports and collaborates on your work?
I work very locally. I collaborate with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, particularly Leeds Maternity Care, the Leeds Integrated Care Board, Primary Care Networks in some of the most underserved areas of Leeds, and Active Leeds, which is part of Leeds City Council.
In terms of funding, I’ve had Impact Acceleration Awards supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), as well as internal funding to support the development of the Athena Pathway.
I’m really fortunate that my collaborators are incredibly passionate about maternal health. They often go above and beyond their paid roles, which makes it a real privilege to work with them.
What has surprised or inspired you most?
Talking directly to the women involved has been eye-opening. You might think free yoga or swimming won’t change lives, but for new mothers, particularly those who’ve had gestational diabetes, the impact on mental wellbeing and social connection can be huge.
It’s also been inspiring to see how committed my collaborators are. They work in a very overstretched healthcare system, yet they still push for better care.
How is your research making a difference beyond academia?
A good example is a patient leaflet that was published by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ATHENA Care Pathway), which I helped develop. My role was to make sure the recommendations were evidence-based and up to date.
Seeing something you’ve co-produced being used by practitioners and patients and, knowing it might lead to even small improvements in care, is what I consider meaningful impact beyond academia.
What have you learned along the way?
The importance of co-production. You have to listen to practitioners and to the women themselves from the very beginning. If you don’t, you risk creating something that isn’t sustainable.
It might make the process longer, but it’s worth it. I wouldn’t start a project now without involving key stakeholders from the outset.
What’s next for this work – and for you?
I’m really excited about a project developing a toolkit with BHR PCN: Burmantofts, Harehills and Richmond Hill (BHR) Primary Care Network for the 6–8-week maternal postnatal check. This includes 12 practices in areas of high deprivation, where more than 80% of patients fall under Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Decile 1. We’ve found huge inconsistency in how these checks are delivered, and in many cases the focus is much more on the baby than the mother.
The idea is to co-develop resources for both GPs and patients to improve consistency and support maternal wellbeing.
I’ve already had people from other parts of the country reach out about doing similar work, which shows how much need there is.
Specialists across the UK, including collaborators from the Universities of Birmingham, Manchester and Sunderland, as well as maternity leads from multiple NHS Trusts have reached out to explore similar initiatives or contribute to other ongoing projects.
I’m also supporting a postdoctoral researcher, Dr Jinan Rabbee, who is applying for an NIHR fellowship focused on faith-based approaches to physical activity with pregnant and postnatal Muslim women. I am looking forward to learning with Dr Jinan on this work, as this is a new research avenue for me. Some of this work will also form a part of a postgraduate research project for one of my students, Khadija Baghdady, doing her MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine. I am really excited to launch this study, ‘MAMA-Move’: Muslim and Motherhood Activity, together.
What advice would you give to someone considering a research career?
Don’t be scared of thinking outside the box, and painting outside the lines. Some of the best research questions come from engaging with real-world problems. Don’t expect a clear linear pathway, in my case there was a lot of side steps.
Go out, find your collaborators, and work on things that matter. If a collaboration doesn’t feel right, it’s okay to step away.
What does research impact mean to you personally?
For me, impact is seeing research change real-world experiences. If something I’ve worked on improves how care is delivered or received just a little, that’s meaningful.
Something we already know from the evidence around talking about alcohol and smoking cessation during pregnancy and how brief discussion can shift behaviour, is that if you have 100 conversations about physical activity and 10 of them lead to positive change, that’s still impact. That’s making a difference.
Further information
Visit Camilla’s staff profile and find out more about some of her recent research projects.
Find out more about the Cardiovascular and Exercise Sciences research here at Leeds.
