Professor Martin Holt
BSc (Hons) Psychology, The University of Birmingham.
MSc Social Psychology, London School of Economics and Political Science.
PhD in Psychology, The University of Birmingham.
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:
- Evidence-making and implementing interventions in a viral elimination era, ARC Discovery Project led by A/Prof Kari Lancaster
- PRISM: Implementation research to guide the elimination of HIV transmission in NSW, NHMRC Partnership Project led by Prof Andrew Grulich
- Networks in Flux: Examining how sector relationships adapt to rapid change, ARC Discovery Project led by Prof Graham Brown
- Responding to mpox virus among gay and bisexual men in Australia (RE:MPXV), led by Dr James MacGibbon
- TraX, national online cohort study assessing mpox vaccine uptake and efficacy, led by Prof Andrew Grulich and Dr Mo Hammoud
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.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
- 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
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).
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
My Research Supervision
Brandon Bear, Salutogenic behaviours in sexuality and gender diverse individuals
Anggra Cahyo, Beyond the surface: examining the link between relationship satisfaction, sexual behaviours, and psychological distress in a representative sample of Australian adults
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