Ama de-Graft Aikins is a professor of social psychology and a British Academy Global Professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies, University College London. She received her PhD in social psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), completed postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge and has held teaching and research positions at the LSE, University of Cambridge and University of Ghana.

Ama’s research focuses on chronic illness representations, experiences and care, and on the social, cultural and health systems aspects of Africa's chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) burden. She also has a strong interest in the history of psychology in Africa and its intersections with critical theory and African Studies.

She has led, and participated in, interdisciplinary NCD research projects based in Africa and Europe with colleagues from Universities of Ghana and Amsterdam, University College London and New York University. She is currently PI for the Chronicity and Care in African Contexts project, funded by the British Academy. The project focuses on a social psychological study of chronic illness and care among London's West African communities and the development of interdisciplinary public engagement models for NCDs in African contexts. The project aims to contribute a 'whole-of-society' approach to current initiatives addressing the disproportionate burden of chronic diseases in Global Africa.