Dr Georgina Spies
Dr Georgina Spies
Ph.D. Psychiatry (Stellenbosch University)
Georgina Spies is a Psychology lecturer at the University of Cape Town. Her interests lie more broadly in cognitive and affective neuroscience and cognitive neuropsychology. Her research primarily focusses on NeuroAIDS and brain and behavioural outcomes of coexisting epidemics, such as HIV, harmful alcohol use, SARS-CoV-2, and traumatic stress. She is a member of the Child Trauma Network of the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress, which aims to improve the transcultural understanding of emotional, behavioural, cognitive, physiological, and societal factors underlying well-being and social functioning in individuals affected by childhood maltreatment. Georgina is involved in various global psychotrauma projects. She has published widely on HIV and traumatic stress and serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Teaching Responsibilities
• Course Convener and lecturer: Introduction to Clinical Neuropsychology (PSY3010S)
Selected Publications
• Assim, A., Solmi, M., Correll, C.U., Thompson, T., Estradé, A., Spies, G., & Seedat, S. (2025). Risk and protective factors associated with change in well-being and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 2:1-36. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40598889.
• Van der Watt, A.S.J., Spies, G., & Seedat, S. (2025). A longitudinal analysis of neurocognitive profiles in South African women with HIV. AIDS Care, 37(3): 396-409.
• Fares-Otero, N.E., Carranza-Neira, J., Womersley, J.S., Stegemann, A., Schalinski, I., Vieta, E., Spies, G., & Seedat, S. (2025). Child maltreatment and resilience in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 55:e163.
• Solmi, M. & Correll, C.U., COH-FIT Consortium. (2024). Global and risk-group stratified well-being and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in adults: Results from the international COH-FIT Study. Psychiatry Research, 342(2024), 115972.
• Haim-Nachum, S., Sopp, R.M., Lüönd, A.M., Afzal, N., Åhs, F.,…Spies, G., Pfaltz, M. (2024). Childhood Maltreatment is Linked to Larger Preferred Interpersonal Distances Towards Friends and Strangers Across the Globe. Translational Psychiatry, 14, 339.
• Spies, G., Huss, J., Motswage, O., Seedat, S., & Eichenberg, C. (2024). Attitudes of patients and mental health professionals towards hypothetical use of serious games in psychotherapy. Health Informatics Journal, 30(2):14604582241259343.
• Spies, G., Deist, M., Suliman, S., & Seedat, S. (2023). Screening for HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment: Development and validation of an abbreviated neuropsychological test battery for use in South African clinical settings. Neuropsychology, 37, 166-180.
• Deist, M., Suliman, S., Kidd, M., Franklin, M., Cherner, M., Heaton, R.K., Spies, G., & Seedat, S. (2023). Neuropsychological test norms for the assessment of HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment among South African adults. AIDS & Behavior, 27(9):3080-3097.
• Van den Heuvel, L.L., Ahmed-Leitao, F., du Plessis, S., Hoddinott, G., Spies, G., & Seedat, S. (2022). Hazardous or harmful alcohol use and reward processing in people with HIV. Journal of Neurovirology, 28, 514-526.
• Spies, G., Ahmed-Leitao, F., Hoddinott, G., & Seedat, S. (2022). Effects of unhealthy alcohol use on brain morphometry and neurocognitive function among people with HIV. Journal of Neurovirology, 28(1), 35-45.
• Womersley, J.S., Spies, G., Tromp, G., Seedat, S., & Hemmings, S. M. J. (2021). Longitudinal telomere length profile does not reflect HIV and childhood trauma impacts on cognitive function in South African women. Journal of Neurovirology, 27, 735–749.
• Denckla, C. A., Lee, S.Y., Rockli, K., Spies, G., Vasterling, J., Subramanian, S.V., & Seedat, S. (2021). Patterning of Individual Variability in Neurocognitive Health Among South African Women Exposed to Childhood Maltreatment. Scientific Reports, 11(1): 6669.
• Spies, G., Kidd, M., & Seedat, S. (2019). A factor analytic study of the childhood trauma questionnaire-short form in an all-female South African sample with and without HIV infection. Child Abuse and Neglect, 92(2019), 157-166.
• Spies, G., Denckla. C., Mall, S., Levin, J., Seedat, S., Nakasujja, N., & Kinyanda, E. (2019). The relationship between cognitive change and physical health and behavioural outcomes in a Ugandan cohort of adults living with HIV – a longitudinal study. AIDS Care, 31(7), 803-808.
• Spies, G., Konkiewitz, E.C., & Seedat, S. (2018). Incidence and persistence of depression among women living with and without HIV in South Africa: a longitudinal study. AIDS & Behavior, 22: 3155-3165.
• Spies, G., Fennema-Notestine, C., Cherner, M., & Seedat, S. (2017). Changes in cognitive function in women with HIV infection and early life stress. AIDS Care, 29(1), 14-23.
• Spies, G., Ahmed-Leitao, F., Fennema-Notestine, C., Cherner, M., & Seedat, S. (2016). Effects of HIV and childhood trauma on brain morphometry and neurocognitive function. Journal of NeuroVirology, 22(2), 149-158.
Links to my research:
Orcid ID: 0000-0003-0853-2813
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0853-2813
Google Scholar Bibliography:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4_-9oNoAAAAJ&hl=en
PubMed bibliography:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1xW0npsr6d-Ak/bibliography/public/