Jane Sandall is Professor of Social Science and Women’s Health at King’s College London and is a global leader in the fields of maternity safety, quality, implementation and improvement. Her focus is on the translational research gap to improve safety, and on inequalities in mortality and morbidity and women’s experience. As the first Head of Maternity and Midwifery Research at NHS England she focused on strengthening the translational research pathway to policy. The Birthplace in England study informs NHS policy on place of birth and her contribution to the field of midwifery over decades has been recognised in her membership of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts for maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health, and nutrition.