Researcher

Professor Martin Holt

My Expertise

My expertise is in guiding, evaluating and improving HIV prevention, particularly with gay and bisexual men. I study trends in sexual behaviour, and conduct social and behavioural research on HIV, sexual health and the use of biomedical prevention methods, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV treatment as prevention, with the aim of improving the implementation, use and experience of effective methods. I use mixed methods to understand community attitudes to and engagement with HIV and sexual health, drawing on social science theory and critical public health research to understand the complex and unexpected effects that interventions and programs can have. I have worked with colleagues to assess the community impact of COVID-19 and mpox on gay and bisexual men, and how these have accentuated disparities in HIV outcomes. All my research is conducted in collaboration with community organisations and governments.

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

Sociology, Public health, Sociology of health, Sociology and social studies of science and technology

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Biography

I specialise in HIV prevention research with gay and bisexual men. I'm a social scientist by training, and have worked at the Centre for Social Research in Health since 2003. Over the last 15 years my research has guided the introduction of newer forms of HIV prevention, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis and treatment as prevention, and investigated the impact of these strategies on community norms, attitudes and practices. My team's research...view more

I specialise in HIV prevention research with gay and bisexual men. I'm a social scientist by training, and have worked at the Centre for Social Research in Health since 2003. Over the last 15 years my research has guided the introduction of newer forms of HIV prevention, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis and treatment as prevention, and investigated the impact of these strategies on community norms, attitudes and practices. My team's research was the first to show how the introduction of PrEP affected condom use at a national level. More recently, I have been advocating for implementation scientists to consider how HIV prevention coverage can be achieved by using a range of effective strategies (rather than focusing on one, like PrEP). I have also worked with colleagues to assess the impact of COVID-19 and mpox on HIV-related behaviour.

I lead the GBQ+ Community Periodic Surveys, the main part of Australia's behavioural surveillance system for HIV, supported by federal and state/territory health funding and NHMRC Partnership Project funding (2021-26). I am also the senior investigator on a long term study of the social aspects of biomedical HIV prevention for gay and bisexual men (the PrEPARE project). I am a chief investigator on a range of other projects, including:

 

I am actively involved with the HIV sector, LGBTIQ community organisations, and professional societies. I have been a Deputy Editor of the Journal of the International AIDS Society since 2013, an Associate Editor of AIDS and Behavior since 2018, and an Associate Editor of Sexual Health since 2023.

In 2022, I was appointed as Research Director in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, UNSW Sydney, and from 2024 I am serving as Associate Dean, Research Quality & Culture in the Faculty.


My Grants

  • MRFF Emerging Priorities and Consumer Driven Research Initiative, Improving the physical and mental health of people born with innate variations of sex characteristics, 2024-29, CI
  • NHMRC Partnership Project, Implementation research to guide the elimination of HIV transmission in NSW, 2021-26, CI
  • NHMRC Partnership Project, Extending the reach and relevance of behavioural surveillance to gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in a changing HIV epidemic, 2021-26, lead CI
  • ARC Discovery Project, Evidence-making and implementing interventions in a viral elimination era, 2021-23, CI
  • ARC Discovery Project, Networks in Flux: Examining how sector relationships adapt to rapid change, 2021-23, CI
  • NHMRC Project, Crystal methamphetamine use, sex and risk practice among gay and bisexual men, 2017-19, CI
  • NHMRC Partnership Project, The HIV prevention revolution: measuring outcomes and maximising effectiveness, 2015-20, CI
  • NHMRC Project, Identifying undiagnosed HIV infection among Australian gay men: delivering HIV testing through a national, community-based study, 2013-16, lead CI
  • ARC Linkage Project, The role of the internet in producing social capital for homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention, 2006-09, CI

My Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Psychology, The University of Birmingham.
MSc Social Psychology, London School of Economics and Political Science.
PhD in Psychology, The University of Birmingham.


My Awards

Fellow (elected), Royal Society of New South Wales, 2019.
Australia Awards Endeavour Executive Fellowship, 2015.
Dean's Award for Social Research Impact, 2014 (jointly awarded to Gay Community Periodic Survey team).


My Research Supervision


Supervision keywords


Areas of supervision

I am available to supervise postgraduate research in the following areas:

  • HIV prevention, particularly with gay and bisexual men
  • social and behavioural research on HIV, sexual behaviour and relationships
  • understanding and use of biomedical prevention methods, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV treatment as prevention
  • understanding and use of technology (such as new media or biomedical technology) by HIV-affected communities 

Currently supervising

Brandon Bear, Salutogenic behaviours in sexuality and gender diverse individuals
Curtis Chan, Identifying characteristics of men who have sex with men at high risk of HIV infection not reached by gay community-focused public health messaging
Simin Yu, Understanding and reducing barriers to HIV prevention and sexual health among gay and bisexual men who have recently migrated to Australia

 


My Engagement

Associate Member, Australasian Society for HIV Medicine
Member, International AIDS Society
Member, The Australian Sociological Association
Deputy Editor, Journal of the International AIDS Society
Associate Editor, AIDS and Behavior

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Videos

Imagining and remaking PrEP after COVID 19: An evidence making intervention perspective. Given as part of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society's seminar series on 20th October 2021.
Professor Martin Holt from Centre for Social Research in Health talks about the impacts of COVID-19 on gay and bisexual men’s practices in Australia.

Kirby Institute Seminar Series – 13 July 2021

This presentation considers how HIV behavioural surveillance was adapted to COVID-19 in Australia, and the impacts of COVID-19 on gay and bisexual men’s practices in different jurisdictions. We also consider how social and geographic disparities in HIV risk, the uptake of testing and use of effective prevention methods may have been accentuated by COVID-19.
Presentation given at Joint Australasian HIV&AIDS and Sexual Health Conferences: Virtual, 18th November 2020, explaining how rising levels of PrEP use and HIV treatment by gay and bisexual men are increasing HIV prevention coverage in Australia.
Seminar about PrEP access, problematising evidence and equity presented by Christy Newman, Martin Holt and Anthony K J Smith on 4 December 2019 at the Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney.
Professor Martin Holt from the Centre for Social Research in Health discusses HIV prevention drug PrEP and its impact on sexual practices in gay and bisexual communities where PrEP implementation programs have been rolled out.
Keynote at 2018 SiREN Symposium in Western Australia on 'Preparing for the impact of PrEP and the diversification of gay men's sexual practices in WA'
Public lecture given during Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2017
Imagining and remaking PrEP after COVID 19: An evidence making intervention perspective
The impact of COVID-19 on behavioural surveillance of gay and bisexual men
Increasing PrEP use and 'net prevention coverage'
Equitable access, problematising evidence, and mainstreaming the implementation of PrEP in Australia
Prof Martin Holt discusses impact of PrEP uptake on condom use
2018 SiREN Symposium
Sex Lecture - Antiretroviral sex: the transformation of safe sex?