Dr. Stafford is a Professor of Medicine in the Stanford University School of Medicine where he directs the Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices (PPOP).  His training includes an MHS in Health Administration from Johns Hopkins, a PhD in Epidemiology from UC Berkeley, a post-doctoral fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and an MD from UC San Francisco with clinical training in Primary Care Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.  Experiencing kidney failure and renal transplant in his mid-20s motivated his career in medicine and clinical research.

Dr. Stafford’s interests include: a) improving the quality of outpatient disease management care, b) facilitating improved patient-provider communication via new information technology, c) health disparities by race, gender, age, and social status, and d) policies to reverse global patterns of obesity and chronic disease.  He has designed and tested interventions to improve health care for atrial fibrillation, hypertension, weight management, depression/anxiety, diabetes prevention, pain management, and cardiovascular disease risk factors.  He is particularly eager to improve patient decision-making and patient self-management through digital strategies.  For these projects, Dr. Stafford received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Associates. 

He consults with governmental organizations involved in opioid-related legal suits and is a scientific advisor to several start-up companies and governmental agencies.  As a research mentor, Professor Stafford is training the next generation of researchers capable of transforming health care.  His work as a primary care physician focuses on chronic disease, prevention, and health behaviors.  He takes to heart the advice he provides to his patients with an ongoing personal commitment to healthy eating, intensive physical activity, adequate sleep, stress-reduction strategies, and maintaining social connections.