Sorcha Alford is an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) funded PhD student in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London. She is based at the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute.

Her research focuses on perinatal psychiatry, examining how the timing of maternal perinatal psychopathology influences the mother–offspring relationship across development. Specifically, she investigates whether exposure to maternal psychopathology during pregnancy has differential effects on early mother–infant interaction and later attachment compared with lifetime maternal psychopathology. Her work aims to advance understanding of early relational pathways that may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of mental health difficulties.

Alongside her academic research, Sorcha is developing a portfolio career spanning research, consultancy, and science communication. She has a particular interest in sex- and gender-disaggregated research and women’s mental health across the life course, and is committed to improving how women are represented in health research and evidence-based policy. Through consultancy and collaborative projects, she works at the intersection of academic research, health innovation, and knowledge translation.

Sorcha joined King’s College London in 2022 to complete an MSc in Psychiatric Research, where she was awarded the Shitij Kapur Prize for Innovation. She holds a BSc in Neuroscience and continues to engage in interdisciplinary work that connects academic research with real-world mental health challenges.

Research Interests

• Psychiatry
• Women’s mental health across the life course
• Sex- and gender-disaggregated research in psychiatry

Research Groups

Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology Lab (SPI Lab)

Expertise and Public Engagement

Managing editor at Inspire the Mind https://www.inspirethemind.org/

Key Publications

Priestley K, Laijawala R, Hazelgrove K, et alHappyMums mobile application study protocol: use of a smartphone application to gather data predictive of antenatal depressionBMJ Open 2026;16:e106978. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-106978

Weaver, T., S.Alford, H.Gleeson, I.Sclare, S.Lisk, and J. S. L.Brown. 2025. “Qualitative Process Evaluation of a School-Based Group Intervention (DISCOVER) for Depression and Anxiety for older Adolescents.” Journal of Adolescence98: 580–590. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.70083.

S. Alford, Vaccination equity: a warning from the COVID-19 pandemic, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, Volume 129, 2025, Pages 294-295, ISSN 0889-1591, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2025.06.022.