Kristen A. Stafford

Kristen A. Stafford, PhD, MPH serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She holds the administrative position of Technical Deputy Director for the Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity (CIHEB) and is based at the Institute of Human Virology (725 W. Lombard Street, IHV N348). With 28 years of experience as an infectious disease epidemiologist, including 20 years working in Africa, Dr. Stafford specializes in HIV care and treatment programs, infrastructure development for clinical and epidemiological research, and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems.

• 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

Dr. Stafford's research focuses on the epidemiology of aging with HIV infection, examining how age affects HIV treatment outcomes in low- and middle-income settings. Her methodological expertise includes complex study design, analytical methods for patient and program outcomes, large cohort development and analysis, and HIV and aging research. She has designed and implemented multi-country education and training programs for integrating monitoring and evaluation into HIV programs and co-authored the WHO guide to implementing quality improvement in resource-limited settings. Her work spans infectious diseases, HIV and aging, non-AIDS defining cancers, women's health, HIV-associated non-AIDS conditions, and Global Health.

Analysis of her recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a strong focus on HIV treatment outcomes across Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Zambia, and Botswana. Her work examines differentiated service delivery models, viral load suppression, UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, and the impact of social determinants on HIV outcomes. She has also contributed significantly to understanding the intersection of HIV with other health conditions including frailty in older adults, cardiovascular risk, and hepatitis C co-infection.

• 2013 Otani Award for superior academic performance and consistent service to GPILS
• 2013 Trudy Bush Award for Outstanding Research in Women's Health and Epidemiology

Dr. Stafford has secured significant grant funding including NIH U54TW012041 (Role of Data Streams In Informing Infection Dynamics in Africa), R21AI179493 (Projecting the age shift in HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa), and CDC U2GGH002335 (ENTRENCH) and U2GGH002332 (CONNECT). She previously served as Director of Clinical Research Education Programs in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health for four years and has extensive experience implementing domestic Ryan White funded programs and international HIV care programs across eight African countries.

As Technical Deputy Director for CIHEB, Dr. Stafford leads efforts to strengthen health systems and improve HIV epidemic control through nimble county health systems in Western Kenya and Nairobi. Her work integrates continuous quality improvement approaches into HIV programs across resource-limited settings.