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Waney Squier

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Waney (Marian Valerie) Squier
Dr. Waney Squier in 2023
Born (1948-02-28) February 28, 1948 (age 76)
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Known forNeuropathology research, Shaken Baby Syndrome research
Scientific career
InstitutionsJohn Radcliffe Hospital
Notes

Waney Squier is a neuropathologist specialising in the brain of the developing foetus and neonate. She has written a book on acquired damage to the developing brain[1] and is senior author on peer-reviewed publications ranging in topic from fetal[2] to childhood[3] infection, polymicrogyria,[4] hydrocephalus,[5] head trauma[6][7] and mimics of trauma caused by vascular pathology.[8] She is an expert on dura mater[9][10] and dural bleeding.[11][12]

Many of her publications question[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Shaken Baby Syndrome, preferentially termed Abusive Head Trauma since 2009.[23]

She worked at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK, but also served as an expert witness, particularly in cases where babies had died as a result of suspected abusive head trauma or shaken baby syndrome. In April 2010, a complaint about her was made to the General Medical Council by the National Policing Improvement Agency, since then disbanded.[24]

Following various disciplinary and legal processes, she appeared before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service between October 2015 and March 2016. The charges against her related to six babies about whom she had provided reports and given evidence. It was alleged that she expressed opinions outside her field of expertise, made assertions that were not supported by evidence, and misrepresented research papers to support her opinions.[24] At the conclusion of the hearing, the tribunal determined that Squier was guilty of repeated dishonesty, her fitness to practice was impaired, and that she should be struck off the medical register.[25][26][27]

Squier appealed the tribunal's decision to the High Court of England and Wales during October 2016. On 3 November 2016, the court published a judgment which concluded that "the determination of the MPT is in many significant respects flawed".[24] The judge found that she had committed serious professional misconduct but was not dishonest. She was reinstated to the medical register but is not allowed to give expert evidence in court for three years.[28][29]

Squier retired in 2017. At one time, she believed in the theory of shaken baby syndrome and appeared as a witness for the prosecution in a number of cases. However, on examining the available evidence for the theory more closely, she has come to believe that there is no evidence for shaken baby syndrome and that it does not exist.[30] She described her intellectual journey in a 2018 TEDx talk.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Squier, Waney (2002). Acquired Damage to the Developing Brain. Timing and Causation. London: Arnold Publishers. p. 1-227. ISBN 0 340 75930 5.
  2. ^ Ferguson, DJP; Bowker, C; Jeffery, KJM; Chamberlain, P; Squier, W (2013). "Congenital toxoplasmosis: continued parasite proliferation in the fetal brain despite maternal immunological control in other tissues". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 56 (2): 204-208. doi:10.1093/cid/cis882. PMID 23074307.
  3. ^ Bruch, LA; Jefferson, RJ; Pike, MG; Gould, SJ; Squier, W (2001). "Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, meningoencephalitis, and hemophagocytosis". Pediatric Neurology. 25 (1): 67-70. doi:10.1016/s0887-8994(01)00274-0. PMID 11483400.
  4. ^ Jansen, AC; Robitaille, Y; Honavar, M; Mullatti, N; Leventer, RJ; Andermann, E; Anderman, F; Squier, W (2016). "The histopathology of polymicrogyria: a series of 71 brain autopsy studies". Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 58 (1): 39-48. doi:10.1111/dmcn.12840. PMID 26179148.
  5. ^ Squier, MV (1997). "Pathological approach to the diagnosis of hydrocephalus". Journal of Clinical Pathology. 50 (3): 181-186. doi:10.1136/jcp.50.3.181. PMC 499809. PMID 9155665.
  6. ^ Dobbs, TD; Barber, ZE; Squier, WL; Green, AL (2012). "Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis complicating traumatic head injury". Journal of Clinical Neuroscience. 19 (7): 1058-1059. doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2012.01.002. PMID 22551588.
  7. ^ Squier, W; Mack, J (2014). "Mineralizing angiopathy and minor head trauma". Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 56 (7): 699. doi:10.1111/dmcn.12416. PMID 24575866.
  8. ^ Larsen, KB; Barber, Z; Squier, W (2019). "The pathology and aetiology of subcortical clefts in infants". Forensic Science International. 296: 115-122. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.01.011. PMID 30711846.
  9. ^ Mack, J; Squier, W; Eastman, JT (2009). "Anatomy and development of the meninges: implications for subdural collections and CSF circulation". Pediatric Radiology. 39 (3): 200-210. doi:10.1007/s00247-008-1084-6. PMID 19165479.
  10. ^ Squier, W; Mack, J; Green, A; Aziz, T (2012). "The pathophysiology of brain swelling associated with subdural hemorrhage: the role of the trigeminovascular system". Child's Nervous System. 28 (12): 2005-2015. doi:10.1007/s00381-012-1870-1. PMID 22885686.
  11. ^ Squier, W; Mack, J (2009). "The neuropathology of infant subdural haemorrhage". Forensic Science International. 187 (1–3): 6-13. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.02.005. PMID 19303229.
  12. ^ Squier, W; Mack, J; Jansen, AC (2016). "Infants dying suddenly and unexpectedly share demographic features with infants who die with retinal and dural bleeding: a review of neural mechanisms". Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 58 (12): 1223-1234. doi:10.1111/dmcn.13202. PMID 27435495.
  13. ^ Squier, W (2008). "Shaken Baby Syndrome: the Quest for Evidence". Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 50 (1): 10-14. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2007.02004.x. PMID 18173622.
  14. ^ Squier, W (2011). "The "Shaken Baby" syndrome: pathology and mechanisms". Acta Neuropathologica. 122 (5): 519-542. doi:10.1007/s00401-011-0875-2. PMID 21947257.
  15. ^ Squier, W (2011). "The triad of retinal haemorrhage, subdural haemorrhage and encephalopathy in an infant unassociated with evidence of physical injury is not the result of shaking, but is most likely to have been caused by a natural disease: Yes". Journal of Primary Health Care. 3 (2): 159-161. PMID 21625666.
  16. ^ Findley, KA; Barnes, PD; Moran, DA; Squier, W (2012). "Shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, and actual innocence: getting it right". Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy. 12: 209-312.
  17. ^ Squier, W (2019). "Confusion over infant head trauma". Acta Paediatrica. 108 (2): 382. doi:10.1111/apa.14594. PMID 30256457.
  18. ^ Högberg, U; Squier, W; Andersson, J; Högberg, G; Fellman, V; Thiblin, I; Wester, K (2020). "Do Inter-Country Differences in the Frequency of Abusive Head Trauma Reflect Different Proportions of Overdiagnosis of Abuse or True Differences in Abuse?". Journal of Epidemiology. 30 (6): 276-277. doi:10.2188/jea.JE20190066. PMC 7217690. PMID 31178472.
  19. ^ Zahl, SM; Mack, JA; Rossant, C; Squier, W; Wester, K (2021). "Thrombosis is not a marker of bridging vein rupture in infants with alleged abusive head trauma". Acta Paediatrica. 110 (10): 2686-2694. doi:10.1111/apa.15908. hdl:11250/2768656. PMID 33964045.
  20. ^ Squier, W (2022). "Infant retinal haemorrhages correlate with chronic subdural haemorrhage, not shaking". Acta Paediatrica. 111 (4): 714-715. doi:10.1111/apa.16169. PMID 34766369.
  21. ^ Squier, W; Olofsson, T (2023). The Neuropathology of Shaken Baby Syndrome or Retino-Dural Haemorrhage of Infancy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 33-65. ISBN 1009384767.
  22. ^ Squier, W (2024). "Retinodural haemorrhage of infancy, abusive head trauma, shaken baby syndrome: The continuing quest for evidence". Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 26 (3): 290-297. doi:10.1111/dmcn.15676. PMID 37353945.
  23. ^ Christian, CW; Block, R; Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, American Academy of Pediatrics (2009). "Abusive head trauma in infants and children". Pediatrics. 123 (5): 1409-1411. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0408. PMID 19403508.
  24. ^ a b c "Between : DR WANEY MARIAN VALERIE SQUIER - and - GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL" (PDF). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Medical Practitioner's name: Dr Waney Marian Valerie SQUIER" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  26. ^ "Dr Waney Squier struck off for shaken baby evidence". BBC News. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  27. ^ Campbell, Denis (21 March 2016). "Doctor who denies shaken baby syndrome struck off". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  28. ^ "Shaken baby evidence doctor reinstated". BBC News. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  29. ^ Press Association (4 November 2016). "Doctor wins appeal over shaken baby syndrome trials evidence". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  30. ^ Lawson, Dominic; Squier, Waney; Brunert, Jonathan (15 August 2018). "Waney Squier". Why I Changed My Mind. Series 4. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  31. ^ Squier, Waney (16 March 2018). "I believed in Shaken Baby Syndrome until science showed I was wrong". TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
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