My Expertise
Social aspects of: queer and trans health; sexual and reproductive health; diverse genders, sexualities, relationships, and families
Fields of Research (FoR)
Sociology of health, Sociology of family and relationships, Sexualities, Transgender studiesBiography
Christy E. Newman (they/them) is Professor at the Centre for Social Research in Health, and Deputy Dean Research at UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture. They are a qualitative sociologist of health, gender and sexuality, with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ health and communities.
As Deputy Dean Research, Christy is a passionate advocate for the distinctive contributions that the social sciences, humanities, creative and performing arts, design...view more
Christy E. Newman (they/them) is Professor at the Centre for Social Research in Health, and Deputy Dean Research at UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture. They are a qualitative sociologist of health, gender and sexuality, with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ health and communities.
As Deputy Dean Research, Christy is a passionate advocate for the distinctive contributions that the social sciences, humanities, creative and performing arts, design and built environment disciplines make to understanding and addressing the complex social, environmental, health and geopolitical challenges of our time (see ADA Creating Impact).
At the Centre for Social Research in Health, Christy works in multidisciplinary research teams and in partnership with community, policy and clinical organisations to evidence the experiences of those who are marginalised or mistreated in health and social care systems.
Building on more than two decades of research on engaging 'hard to reach' groups with sexual and reproductive health care, Christy's research is now mainly focused on strengthening models of care for queer and trans communities, and understanding the health and health care experiences of people whose bodies, identities, relationships and family formations sit outside dominant gender and sexuality norms.
Christy's research has been supported by the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund, and public-sector and for-purpose health organisations (>$18 million across 31 collaborative grants). They publish in the health and social sciences (>180 co-authored books, chapters and journal articles to date) and through accessible and specialised resources for communities, clinicians, and policymakers.
Recent publications include:
Current projects include:
- GCPS+: Improving gender and sexuality inclusivity in HIV behavioral surveillance
- When caring ends: understanding and supporting informal care trajectories
- Interconnect Health Research
- Australian Research Consortium for Trans Youth and Children (ARCTYC)
- Bi+ Sexual Health and HIV Study
- Sage DEM: sexuality and/or gender diverse people living with dementia
- Inclusive mental health care for LGBTQ people in South Australia
- Sociology of health data for sexuality and gender diverse people
Selected past projects and outputs include:
- Vax4Health: co-designing immunisation services with people with disability
- Gender diversity and social change (special collection of Culture, Health & Sexuality)
- my health, our family: documenting stories of family life in the context of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C
- What we do well: strengths based research about Aboriginal young people's sexual wellbeing
- Queer families: valuing stories of diversity, adversity and belonging
- Trust in digital health among communities affected by BBVs and STIs in Australia
- Sustaining sexual and reproductive health through COVID-19 pandemic restrictions
My Awards
- 2020 Research Supervisor Award, UNSW Arc Postgraduate Council
- 2017 Mid-Career Interdisciplinary Achiever Award, Australasian Sexual Health Alliance
- 2010 Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
- 1998 University Medal in Arts, Murdoch University
My Research Supervision
Currently supervising
- Katherine Thompson: Queer family imaginaries
- Shannon Harvey: Disrupted bodies: Interrogating the gender binary in family violence policy and practice
- Clue Coman: Imagining queer justice
- Bella Bushby: Assessing the sexual health and HIV needs of Bi+ people in Australia
- Ava del Tufo: Trans health in rural NSW
Doctoral graduates
- Dr Tierney Marey (2025): Embodied labour: A creative exploration of equity practitioners' embodied experiences in higher education
- Dr Heather McCormack (2024): Optimising the MBS 715 Adult Health Check to improve sexual health testing in routine care for Aboriginal people in NSW
- Dr Catriona Ooi (2024): Services for men who have sex with men in western Sydney
- Dr Lisa Wojciechowski (2023) Young + Positive: Young people living with HIV in Australia
- Dr Anthony KJ Smith (2022) PrEP in Practice: a sociological study of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis prescribing
- Dr Giselle Newton (2022) Everyday belongings: Exploring Australian donor-conceived adults' social, linguistic and digital practices across private and public domains
- Dr Elena Cama (2022) Navigating safety and sexual harms in the context of dating and hookup platform use among adult Australians
- Dr Elan Lazuardi (2019) Navigating the social dynamics of HIV care: A qualitative study in urban Indonesia in the era of scaled-up testing and treatment
- Dr Jialing (Angela) Cui (2019) Understanding the empowerment of people with severe mental illness in the community through the eyes of social work practitioners in Sydney and Hong Kong
- Dr Jessica Botfield (2019) Engaging young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds with sexual and reproductive health care
- Dr Jamee Newland (2015) Safety in the silence: A qualitative social network analysis of hepatitis C risk and prevention in three networks of Australians who inject drugs
- Dr Denton Callander (2013) Just a Preference: Exploring concepts of race among gay men looking for sex or dates online
- Dr Dean Murphy (2013) ‘A child of one’s own’: enacting kinship among gay men pursuing parenthood through surrogacy
- Dr Rebecca Gray (2013) The dynamics of shame: navigating professional complexities when counselling in alcohol and other drug settings
My Engagement
- Associate, International Centre for Future Health Systems
- Associate, Australian Human Rights Institute
- Editorial Board, Culture, Health & Sexuality
- Editorial Board, Health Sociology Review
- Member, TASA: The Australian Sociological Association
- Member, AusPATH: Australian Professional Association for Trans Health