research

mechanisms of depression in people with HIV

Our main area of interest is determining what drives the higher rates of depression in people with HIV. We focus on physiological processes - namely, inflammation and metabolic dysfunction - as potential contributors to this comorbidity. Our approach also recognises, however, that socioeconomic factors such as stigma, discrimination, and deprivation may play an important role in this relationship. This research may result in dual benefit: to enable more effective mental healthcare for this underserved community, and to improve our mechanistic understanding of depression in the general population.

severe mental illness in people with HIV

We are interested in the comorbidity of HIV and severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which remains an underexplored area. Our research aims to generate reliable evidence from diverse settings to demonstrate the scale of the problem - that is, precisely how common are severe mental health conditions in people with HIV compared to the general population? This work will then inform mechanistic and interventional studies to address this comorbidity.

mental health insights from big data

We work with data from large cohorts, including Our Future Health (UK) and All Of Us (USA), to explore patterns and disparities in mental health conditions at a population scale. We are particularly interested in using these datasets to uncover the links between chronic physical health conditions and mental health outcomes.

culturally-grounded neuropsychiatric screening

We are interested in the development of mental health screening tools that are culturally grounded and empirically validated. Our work in this area has so far focused on developing (with co-production approaches) an isiXhosa version of the PHQ-9 to enable screening for depressive symptoms in community, clinic, and research settings in South Africa.