Phillip Bennett is Director of the Institute for Reproductive and Developmental Biology at Imperial College London. He has an international reputation as a leading researcher in human parturition, having discovered a series of events integrating endocrine and inflammatory signals. Professor Bennett established one of the first preterm birth prevention services in the United Kingdom, providing the framework for a series of studies of diagnostics and interventions which have improved outcomes in women at risk of premature labour. He has worked extensively with industry to identify new targets in preterm labour and has led the creation of UK research networks for multicentre studies.