Dr Helen Ford
- Position: Honorary Clinical Associate Professor
- Areas of expertise: Multiple sclerosis: epidemiology; patient -reported outcome measures; employment; treatment decision-making; clinical trials
- Email: H.L.Ford@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: Martin Wing, Leeds General Infirmary
- Website: Twitter | Googlescholar
Profile
I am a Consultant Neurologist and Clinical Lead for the West Yorkshire Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Programme at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. I was appointed Honorary Senior Lecturer in Neurology at the University of Leeds and Clinical Lead for Undergraduate Neurosciences in 1998. In 2015 I was appointed as Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds.
I am the Research Lead for Neurosciences at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. This group includes the research teams in Neurology, Stroke, Neurosurgery, Spinal surgery and Pain services.
Responsibilities
- Research Lead for Neurosciences, Leeds Teaching Hospitals
Research interests
My research interests are in multiple sclerosis (MS) with original research in the epidemiology of MS; patient-reported outcome measures including quality of life, symptom impact and work instability; novel techniques to assess upper limb function; clinical trials; employment and treatment decision making.
My ambition is for every person with MS to be offered the opportunity to participate in high quality research. I have championed research across all stages of the MS disease course. We have research opportunities from early diagnosis, treatment decision-making, employment, upper limb functional assessment and clinical trials. The trial portfolio includes comparison of treatment strategies in treatment-naïve patients, novel remyelinating add-on therapies and new disease modifying treatments in relapsing-remitting MS, primary and secondary progressive MS. I have established Leeds as a key site for multi-centre investigator-led trials in MS.
Qualifications
- MD Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis
- FRCP
- MBChB Hons
- BSc
Professional memberships
- Association of British Neurologists
- Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
- International Headache Society
- Multiple Sclerosis Academy
Student education
Undergraduate: I teach, assess and examine on the MBChB course.
Postgraduate: PhD and MD supervisor; Clinical and Educational supervisor for Neurology Specialty trainees; Consultant mentor; Faculty member of the MS Academy providing multi-professional education in MS
Research groups and institutes
- Leeds Institute of Clinical Trials Research