Skip to main content

Kristen A. Stafford, PhD, MPH

Academic Title:

Associate Professor

Primary Appointment:

Epidemiology & Public Health

Administrative Title:

Technical Deputy Director for CIHEB

Location:

725 W. Lombard Street, IHV N348

Phone (Primary):

(410) 706-6230

Education and Training

  • Notre Dame of Maryland University, BA, Psychology, 1995
  • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MPH, Health Policy & Management, 2004
  • University of Maryland School of Medicine, PhD, Epidemiology, 2015

 

 

Biosketch

Dr. Stafford is an infectious disease epidemiologist with 28 years of experience, 20 in Africa, in the design, implementation, and evaluation of domestic and international HIV care and treatment programs as well as infrastructure development for clinical and epidemiological research. Domestically she directly implemented Ryan White funded programs as well as served as the Deputy Program Manager and Manager of the Continuous Quality Improvement Program for the Ryan White Part A Program for the Baltimore EMA.

Internationally, she served for six years as Director of the Outcomes and Evaluation Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute of Human Virology for an eight country HIV care and treatment program funded through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Dr. Stafford has designed and implemented multi-country education and training programs for the integration of monitoring and evaluation and continuous quality improvement programs into HIV programs and served as co-lead author for the WHO guide to implementing quality improvement programs in resource-limited settings.

Dr. Stafford’s methodological expertise includes complex study design, analytical methods used to evaluate patient and program outcomes, large cohort development and analysis, and methodological considerations for HIV and aging research. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of aging in the presence of HIV infection and how age is associated with differences in HIV treatment outcomes in low- and middle-income settings.

Dr. Stafford has expertise in advanced epidemiological methods for infectious disease research and served as the Director of Clinical Research Education Programs in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health for four years.  She is the Deputy Director of the Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Research/Clinical Keywords

infectious diseases; HIV and aging; non-AIDS defining cancers, women's health; HIV associated non-AIDS conditions; Global Health

Highlighted Publications

Stafford KA, Magder LS, Hungerford LL, Guralnik JM, El-Kamary SS, Baumgarten M, Redfield RR. Immunologic response to antiretroviral therapy by age among treatment-naive patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS. 2018 Jan 2;32(1):25-34.

Stafford KA, Nganga LW, Tulli T, Foreit KG. Factors associated with outcomes of pre-ART HIV care. J Int Assoc Provid AIDS Care.  2018 March(17):1-7.

Andronescu L, Zulu PM, Jackson SS, Hachaambwa L, Claassen CW, Stafford KA. The association between gender and HIV viral suppression on third-line therapy in Zambia: a retrospective cohort study. International Journal of STD & AIDS. 2019 Apr;30(5):453-459

O'Hara LM, Blanco N, Leekha S, Stafford KA, Slobogean GP, Ludeman E, Harris AD. Design, implementation, and analysis considerations for cluster-randomized trials in infection control and hospital epidemiology: A systematic review. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2019 Jun;40(6):686-692.

Audu RA*, Stafford KA*Steinhardt L*, Musa ZA, Iriemenam N, Ilori E, Blanco N, Mitchell A, Hamada Y, Moloney M, Iwara E, Abimiku A, Ige FA, William NE, Igumbor E, Ochu C, Omoare AA, Okunoye O, Greby SM, Rangaka M, Copas A, Dalhatu I, Abubakar I, McCracken S, Alagi M, Mba N, Anthony A, Okoye M, Okoi C, Ezechi OC, Salako BL, Ihekweazu C, for the Nigeria SARS-CoV-2 Survey Group. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in four states of Nigeria in October 2020: a population-based household survey. PLOS Global Public Health 2(6)

Schmalzle SA, Viviano NA, Mohanty K, Palmeiro RM, Hoffmann JD, Sheth-Pandit N, Gruber-Baldini A, Stafford KA. People aging with HIV - protecting a population vulnerable to effects of COVID-19 and its control measures. AIDS Care. 2022 Nov;34(11):1355-1363.

Lavoie MC, Ehoche A, Blanco N, Ahmed El-Imam I, Oladipo A, Dalhatu I, Odafe S, Adebajo S, Ng AH, Rapoport L, Lawton JG, Obanubi C, Onotu D, Patel S, Ikpeazu A, Ashefor G, Adebobola B, Adetinuke Boyd M, Aliyu G, Stafford KA. Effect of Test and Treat on clinical outcomes in Nigeria: A national retrospective study. PLoS One. 2023;18(8)

Dalhatu I, Aniekwe C, Bashorun A, Abdulkadir A, Dirlikov E, Ohakanu S, Adedokun O, Oladipo A, Jahun I, Murie L, Yoon S, Abdu-Aguye MG, Sylvanus A, Indyer S, Abbas I, Bello M, Nalda N, Alagi M, Odafe S, Adebajo S, Ogorry O, Akpu M, Okoye I, Kakanfo K, Onovo AA, Ashefor G, Nzelu C, Ikpeazu A, Aliyu G, Ellerbrock T, Boyd M, Stafford KA, Swaminathan M. From Paper Files to Web-Based Application for Data-Driven Monitoring of HIV Programs: Nigeria's Journey to a National Data Repository for Decision-Making and Patient Care. Methods Inf Med. 2023 May 29

Mulenga LB, Hines JZ, Stafford KA, Dzekedzeke K, Sivile S, Lindsay B, Chola M, Ussery F, Patel HK, Abimiku A, Birhanu S, Minchella P, Stevens T Jr, Hanunka B, Chisenga T, Shibemba A, Fwoloshi S, Siame M, Mutukwa J, Chirwa L, Siwingwa M, Mulundu G, Agbakwuru C, Mapondera P, Detorio M, Agolory SG, Monze M, Bronson M, Charurat ME. Comparison of HIV prevalence, incidence, and viral load suppression in Zambia population-based HIV impact assessments from 2016 and 2021. AIDS. 2024 Jan 15

Mine M, Stafford KA, Laws RL, Marima R, Lekone P, Ramaabya D, Makhaola K, Patel HK, Mapondera P, Wray-Gordon F, Agbakwuru C, Okui L, Matroos S, Onyadile E, Ngidi J, Abimiku A, Bagapi K, Nkomo B, Bodika SM, Kim KJ, Moloney M, Mitchell A, Ehoche A, Ussery FL, Hong SY, Keipeile S, Matlhaga M, Mathumo R, Selato R, Charurat ME, Voetsch AC. Progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets in the Fifth Botswana AIDS Impact Survey (BAIS V 2021): a nationally representative survey. Lancet HIV. 2024 Mar 8.

Additional Publication Citations

Awards and Affiliations

2013 Otani Award for superior academic performance and consistent service and support to the overall goals of GPILS by improving the quality of academic studies among fellow students. University of Maryland School of Medicine - Graduate Program in Life Sciences

2013 Trudy Bush Award for Outstanding Research in Women’s Health and Epidemiology. University of Maryland School of Medicine - Department of Epidemiology and Public Health

Grants and Contracts

U54TW012041 Role of Data Streams In Informing Infection Dynamics in Africa - INFORM Africa (Contact PI: Abimiku; MPI: Stafford)

R21AI179493 Projecting the age shift in HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa: a necessary epidemiologic step to prepare for the silver tsunami

CDC U2GGH002335 Enhancing Technical Responses to the HIV Epidemic Control through Nimble County Health Systems in Western Kenya (ENTRENCH)  (Sub-contract PI)

CDC U2GGH002332 County Ownership and Networks to maintain Nairobi Epidemic Control (CONNECT) (Sub-contract PI)