Samantha Quaife

I am a Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Science within the Centre for Prevention, Detection and Diagnosis at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health. I am a Chartered Psychologist and Behavioural Scientist, whose academic training is in Health Psychology. I am also an Honorary Associate Professor within the Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health at University College London.

I hold a Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Population Research Fellowship, as well as funding from CRUK, Barts Charity, North Central London Cancer Alliance and previous funding from the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. I am the lead Behavioural Scientist on two major lung screening implementation studies (the SUMMIT Study and the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial) and an expert advisor to NHS England’s Targeted Lung Health Check Programme. I am also a Co-Investigator on the Yorkshire Enhanced Smoking Cessation Study (YESS), the PEARL study (understanding diagnostic experiences of lung cancer patients with no smoking history), as well as studies developing an implementation toolkit for smoking cessation provision in lung cancer screening and testing a radiographer-led intervention,

I actively collaborate with patients and the public in designing, carrying out, and disseminating research, as well as academics, researchers and healthcare professionals nationally and internationally, including University College London, University of Leeds, Cardiff University, University of Nottingham, University of Pennsylvania, University of Glasgow, the National Cancer Institute and the American Thoracic Society. In collaboration with colleagues at KCL and UCL, I co-convene a Cancer Behavioural Science webinar series badged under the CRUK City of London Centre and the UKSBM’s special

My goal is to use Health Psychology and Behavioural Science to improve engagement with the cancer control agenda and reduce inequalities in cancer mortality.

My research interests primarily concern the psychological and behavioural aspects of early detection of cancer, and how to understand and intervene to improve the equity, acceptability, implementation, and impact of population-level detection strategies. Much of my work is focussed in lung cancer screening with an applied intervention focus, although I am expanding these themes to other types of cancer of unmet need. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am also leading work to understand the impact of virtual attendance on the effectiveness and quality of cancer multidisciplinary team meetings.

Cross-cutting themes of work within my behavioural science research group include,

socioeconomic and smoking-related inequalities in uptake of cancer screening,
surveillance of abnormal findings among individuals at high risk of cancer,
informed and shared decision-making among lower literacy participants,
communication of risk-based eligibility (including behavioural risk factors),
the psychological and behavioural impact of cancer screening,
cancer screening as an opportunity for supporting smoking cessation and other types of health behaviour change,
the effectiveness and quality of virtual cancer multi-disciplinary team meetings.