Laura Benjamin, NIHR ACL - Neurology

A year on, I was competitively awarded a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellowship in Global Health to study Stroke and HIV infection in Malawi. My PhD project was a case-controlled study on factors (specifically HIV) affecting stroke in adult Malawians. I showed that HIV infection is an independent risk factor for all strokes in Malawian adults and that starting HIV treatment may also have a role in a sub-population of individuals.  Not only was I  able to develop important research skills through this experience, but I was also able to learn about a new culture and had the opportunity to build capacity locally in teaching and providing a clinical service.

I am hoping to use this NIHR Lectureship post to gain a better understanding of the role of Infection on stroke.