Biography
I am currently Senior Visiting Fellow at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney as well as Associate Professor of Public Health and Deputy Director of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University. Prior to relocating to Australia in early 2017, I spent a decade working with the Sigma Research group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where I led a number of national and international...view more
I am currently Senior Visiting Fellow at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney as well as Associate Professor of Public Health and Deputy Director of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University. Prior to relocating to Australia in early 2017, I spent a decade working with the Sigma Research group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where I led a number of national and international qualitative studies that explored HIV risk and prevention behaviours among gay and bisexual men, as well as community surveys and sexual health needs assessments of people living with HIV. At ARCSHS, I take a leading role in the development of research that examines the health and well-being of LGBTIQ populations, at both a domestic level and in an international context, especially in the areas of alcohol and other drug use, mental health and family violence. I also maintain active involvement in HIV related research, especially in low and middle-income contexts.
I have always adopted a community-based and action-oriented perspective to my research and am fortunate to have worked in collaboration with a number of community-based, national and supra-national organisations. Between mid-2015 and late 2016, I took a part time secondment to work with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, helping to develop the research and evaluation capacity of the secretariat and a wide range of country level linking organisations in Africa and South East Asia. In January of 2020 I was appointed to the Victorian Whole of Government LGBTIQ Taskforce and also serve as Co-Chair of its Health and Human Services Working Group. I also sit on the Board of Directors of Thorne Harbour Health (previously the Victorian AIDS Council), am Academic Advisor to the ACON Pride in Health and Wellbeing Program, and have served as advisor to several UNAIDS, WHO and World Bank working groups. I'm currently an Associate Editor of the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections and have previously guest-edited special issues on drug use among LGBT communities in the International Journal of Drug Policy and Sexual Health.
My Qualifications
BSc (Hons), PhD (Health Psychology)
My Research Activities
Current or recent projects where I take a leading role include:
WRITING THEMSELVES IN 4: A national survey of health and wellbeing among LGBTQ young people in Australia
LEAN ON ME: A mixed method study examining mental health and peer support among LGBTQ communities in Melbourne
ASIA PACIFIC MSM INTERNET SURVEY (APMIS): A pilot survey of HIV related experiences and needs among men who have sex with men in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan
LGBTIQ FAMILY VIOLENCE: Examining and addressing inclusivity of LGBTIQ communities within family, domestic and sexual violence services
TRANSFORM: A bio-behavioural study, which examines social and sexual networks of men who have sex with men in Kenya and South Africa
I am also a co-investigator of Private Lives 3 (a health and wellbeing survey of LGBTIQ adults in Australia), HIV Futures (quality of life of people living with HIV) and the FLUX study, which examines patterns in drug use and sexual practice among gay and bisexual men.