Kat is the research lead in the Public Health Collaborating Unit.

Kat’s research interests include violence prevention, specifically  adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Kat has led a number of regional and national ACE studies and the first study in the UK to explore the prevalence of ACEs in an offender population. Kat is a mixed-methods researcher with expertise in survey design, evaluation, systematic reviews and evidence synthesis. Kat also has experience of conducting research with vulnerable populations and in high-risk environments.

Kat's role is funded by Public Health Wales and works closely with the WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health & Well-being, Public Health Wales. 

Prior to working at Bangor, Kat worked in the Policy, Research and International Development Directorate at Public Health Wales, where she was the research lead on the Police Innovation Funded, Early Intervention and Prevention project. She also worked for three years in the Behavioural Epidemiology team at the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University - a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention.

Kat completed her PhD at Liverpool University, which explored women’s alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Scotland; this research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and The Scottish Government.

Kat is currently a PhD supervisor for Sophie Rice-Payton. Sophie’s PhD studentship is exploring the associations between ACEs and criminality.

Editorial Board Member for BMC Public Health

Twitter handle @Katharineford

Email                   k.ford@bangor.ac.uk

Phone                  01248383519

Location              Cambrian House, Wrexham