Ms Tiffany E Gooden BSc, MPH

• PhD in Applied Health Research 2023 (expected). Thesis title: Epidemiology of and health services for people living with HIV and comorbidities of non-communicable diseases, including mental health conditions
• MPH International 2016. Dissertation title: Efficacy and safety of tuberculosis vaccine candidates in late phase clinical trials
• BSc in Psychology 2013. Dissertation title: Understanding the role of positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms in spiteful behaviour

Tiffany completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 2013. During this time, she worked as a part-time research assistant in the TRiCAM Laboratory in the Department of Psychology (i.e. Translational Research in Cognitive and Affective Mechanisms) on projects aiming to understand the decision-making processes of people diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. After graduating, Tiffany travelled solo through various African and Southeast Asian countries, visiting both rural and urban areas, and immersing herself in the local cultures. From her travels, she decided to pursue a career in global health with a focus on mental health and infectious diseases.

In 2016, Tiffany completed her Master’s in International Public Health from the University of Birmingham. She then worked as a senior research associate for Picker, a non-profit focused on person-centred care. There she led national studies aimed to identify gaps and areas of concern for mental health, emergency, inpatient, maternal and cancer care in the UK. She worked closely with the NHS, CQC and expert advisory groups to ensure the research was sound and impactful.

Alongside her job at Picker, Tiffany began working for the University of Birmingham on a casual contract in 2018; she worked with Dr Semira Manaseki-Holland on various maternal and child health research projects in LMICs. Tiffany joined the University in 2020 as a full-time research fellow, working with the Brazilian and Sri Lankan partners on the NIHR Global AF Group with Prof G Neil Thomas (Co-PI) among many others at the University. This work includes various epidemiology and health systems projects.  Tiffany is also working on various projects within the Critical Care Asia and Africa (CCAA) network which involves the coordination and supervision of new and existing Masters and PhD students from LMICs to help with the development and planning of their research projects, and is currently leading a research prioritisation exercise for critical care in LMICs in partnership with the James Lind Alliance.

Tiffany is the NIHR training lead for the group; thus, she ensures the country teams have the training and resources they need for building local research capacity and takes part in regular NIHR training sessions and is a member of various NIHR training working groups. Tiffany is also working on the qualitative component of the OPTIMAL project with Prof Krishnarajah Nirantharakumar (Co-PI) and Prof Sheila Greenfield. Additionally, she holds a researcher role within the Critical Care Asia and Africa (CCAA) network which involves the coordination of new and existing PhD students from LMICs to help with the development and planning of their research projects.

Tiffany is in her 3rd year of her PhD which is focused on epidemiology and health services for people living with HIV and comorbidities of non-communicable diseases, including depression and anxiety. Successful completion of the first two chapters have resulted in publications in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, The Lancet HIV and HIV Medicine along with two conference presentations (2021 International AIDS Society conference and The 24^th International AIDS Conference in 2022). She recently finished data collection in Tanzania which will contribute to her final two chapters.

• Public Health and Epidemiology small group undergraduate teaching MBChB

Research interests

Infectious disease and mental health care in low- and middle-income countries

Current projects

Critical Care Asia and Africa

• Leading a research prioritisation exercise with the James Lind Alliance to identify the top unanswered research questions in critical care in LMICs  
• Coordinating and supervising research conducted by early career researchers within the CCAA from LMICs, including Masters and PhD students.

HIV-associated Comorbidities (PhD-related research)

• Conducting various epidemiology projects to better understand the prevalence and risk of comorbidities in people living with HIV. Also conducting a large qualitative project to determine the current pathway of care and opportunities for improvement in care for people living with HIV and hypertension, diabetes or mental health conditions in Tanzania.

Global AF Reach

• Working with researchers and clinicians in Brazil and Sri Lanka on various epidemiological and health systems projects related to atrial fibrillation care and management.

• Member of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Member of the International AIDS Society