Sarah Byford is Professor of Health Economics and  Head of Department, Health Service & Population Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London. 

Sarah is a health economist who joined King’s College London in 2000, having worked previously at the Centre for Health Economics, University of York, and the Health Economics Research Group, Brunel University. 

Sarah is based in the King’s Health Economics research group, which is part of the Health Service & Population Research Department at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.  

Sarah is an expert in mental health economics and has a particular interest in the economic evaluation of services for children and adolescents, including young people with depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, autism and those at risk of or with first episode psychosis. In addition, Sarah has expertise in the economic evaluation of adult services, including depression, addiction, domestic abuse and perinatal mental health services. 

Research Interests 

• Mental health economics 
• Economic evaluation of mental health services 
• Economic evaluation of child and adolescent mental health services 

Teaching

• Health economics
• Economic evaluation
• Critical appraisal of health economic evidence

Expertise and Public Engagement

• NHS England Perinatal Mental Health Economics Group member, part of the Perinatal Research Priorities Group 
• Advisory group member for the Violence and Abuse: Opportunities for Change ESRC Mental Health Network, King’s College London 
• Advisory group member for the Emerging Minds: Action for Child Mental Health ESRC Mental Health Network, University of Reading 
• NHS England Adult Eating Disorders Expert Reference Group member 
• NICE Centre for Guidelines Expert Adviser 
• British Journal of Psychiatry International Editorial Board member 
• Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Editorial Board member