Alan Stein

My main area of research concerns the development of very young children and adolescents in the face of adversity. The ultimate aim of this work is to develop interventions to enhance children’s early development and support their families. Our group is interested in a range of adversities which might potentially affect children’s development including parental physical illness (cancer and HIV), psychological disorders including depression, anxiety and eating disorders, as well as poverty and malnutrition.

A key aspect of this work is to elucidate the mechanisms by which early child development is affected. Ultimately the development of appropriate interventions together with our partners is our priority. We are strongly committed to the training of medical students, young doctors and other healthcare professionals and social scientists in these areas of work.

My work has been published in range of scientific journals such as The Lancet, JAMA, and Nature, and has also been referenced in top media outlets like the BBC, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. I have led three Lancet series.

Main Research Interests:

• Child Development in Adversity; a Global Context
• Perinatal Mental Health
• Communication with Children about Life Threatening Conditions
• Impact of Infectious Diseases (HIV/ADIS, COVID-19) on Communities and Families
• Adolescent Mental Health

Biographical sketch

Alan Stein received his medical training at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Most of his postgraduate medical training was undertaken in Oxford and in 1988 he was awarded a Wellcome Trust Lectureship in the University of Oxford. From 1991 to 1994 he held joint Senior Research Fellowships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge and in 1995 was appointed Professor of Child & Adolescent Mental Health at the Royal Free and University College Medical School and the Tavistock Centre. In 2001 he returned to Oxford to take up the Chair in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. He is also holds an Honorary Professorship in the School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa and is an Honarary Fellow of the Child, Youth, Family and Social Development Programme of the HSRC in South Africa.