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Dr Kate Alford

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Dr Kate Alford (MA, MSc, PhD)

Senior Research Fellow in HIV
E: K.Alford3@bsms.ac.uk
Location: Medical Research Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9XP

Areas of expertise: HIV and cognitive disorders, HIV and ageing, Health-related quality of life, Qualitative methodologies, clinical studies and research design

Research areas: HIV and ageing, cognitive disorders and quality of life

Preferred gender pronouns: She/her

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Biography

Kate is a Senior Research Fellow in HIV working within BSMS’s Global Health and Infection Department, in the HIV, Sexual Health and Women’s Health Research Group and at the Lawson Unit at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Kate employs both quantitative (incl. factor analysis, structural equational modelling and psychometric assessment) and qualitative (primarily thematic analysis and grounded theory) analytic approaches in her work. Additionally, she has experience conducting functional and resting state MRI analysis.  Kate has worked on clinical studies in the field of HIV and mental health for over 10 years and completed her PhD in HIV and cognitive impairment in 2021. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology (MA Hons) from the University of Aberdeen and a Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience (MSc) from the University of Sussex.

Research interests

Kate is the study co-ordinator on a number of national, multi-site, clinical studies exploring the impact and implementation of long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapies, including CORAL ACACIA and LEAP Studies. Additionally, Kate is interested in improving service provision for those living with HIV and cognitive disorders: she employs co-production methodologies, collaborating with local HIV charities and international partners, to develop training and resources for patients and healthcare providers.  For more information on these projects please see the the HIV and Sexual Health research page.

Kate is a member of the Care of HIV and Ageing Implementation Network UK and Ireland (CHAINUKI) and has been part of national and international working groups tasked with developing guidelines on the screening of cognitive disorders in HIV (British HIV Association, (BHIVA)) and interventions to reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia in people with HIV (World Health Organisation (WHO)).

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Teaching

Kate supervises fourth year medical students IRPs and Junior Research Assistant projects.  She teaches on the first year medical students Academic Skills Module and has guest lectured the Research Methods Module of the Global Health MSc.

Publications

Alford, K., O’Brien, C., Banerjee, S., Fitzpatrick, C. & Vera, J. H. Managing cognitive impairment in people with HIV. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases38, 1-9 (2025).

Alford, K., Vera, J. H., Hammond, J. & Daley, S. Understanding the lived experience research priorities for improving health-related quality of life in people living with HIV with cognitive impairment. HIV Research & Clinical Practice 25, 2358724 (2024). 

Moschopoulos, C. D., Alford, K., Antoniadou, A. & Vera, J. H. Cognitive impairment in people living with HIV: mechanisms, controversies, and future perspectives. Trends in Molecular Medicine (2024). 

Stuart, L., Alford, K. & Vera, J. H. Non-pharmaceutical interventions for people living with HIV with cognitive impairment: A scoping review. PloS one 19, e0314185 (2024). 

Alford, K. et al. Lenacapavir: Patient and healthcare provider perceptions and the potential role for a twice‐yearly injectable HIV treatment. HIV medicine (2024).

Alford, K. et al. People with HIV and healthcare workers views on screening for cognitive impairment in people with HIV: A qualitative study. HIV medicine 24, 1244-1252 (2023). 

Morris R, Alford K, Vera JH. How are HIV services in the UK currently identifying and managing patients with cognitive impairment? Results of a national survey. HIV medicine. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/hiv.13494

Alford K, Banerjee S, Daley S, Hamlyn E, Trotman D, Vera JH. Health-Related Quality of Life in People Living With HIV With Cognitive Symptoms: Assessing Relevant Domains and Associations. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC). 2023;22. doi:10.1177/23259582231164241

Alford K, Daley S, Banerjee S, Hamlyn E, Trotman D, Vera JH. “A fog that impacts everything”: a qualitative study of health-related quality of life in people living with HIV who have cognitive impairment. Quality of Life Research. 2022 May 17:1-2.

Alford K, Daley S, Banerjee S, Vera JH. Quality of life in people living with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder: A scoping review study. PLoS One. 2021;16(5):e0251944

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