John de Wit

Fields: Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology, Social and Community Psychology, Health Promotion, Preventive Medicine

Tags: Preventive Medicine, Behaviour and Health

Professor John de Wit is Director of the Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH), a UNSW research centre in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences with a broad program of social research related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), sexually transmissible infections, and viral hepatitis. John is an internationally recognised leader in social and behavioural research with respect to health and sexuality, with recent highlights including co-chairing of a track committee at the World AIDS Conference 2014 and speaking as a keynote at the International Conference of Applied Psychology 2014.

Since arriving at UNSW, John has built strong collaborative relationships with leading researchers and major stakeholders, and has initiated new research programs at CSRH regarding service provision and use, intervention concepts for HIV prevention and health promotion, and stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV. John was awarded the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' Dean's Research Award for Achievement in Research Leadership in 2014, in recognition of his significant contribution to the research efforts of his peers and colleagues.

John graduated in psychology from Radboud University in the Netherlands, with a specialisation in social psychology, in particular attitute and behaviour change. He subsequently complete a PhD in public health/health promotion, with a focus on trends in sexual risk behaviour and risk for HIV among gay men.

John’s research career to date spans almost 25 years and he has published widely in high-esteem peer-reviewed journals in a range of disciplines, including epidemiology, public health, health psychology, social psychology, sexuality, and HIV/AIDS. He has contributed to several books in social psychology, health psychology and sexology, and has also co-edited two books on the application of social psychological theory to a range of social domains, and the self-regulation of health behaviour. John is currently Specialty Chief Editor of HIV and AIDS, a speciality section of Frontiers in Public Health, Co-Editor of Social Aspects in HIV and Associate Editor of AIDS and Behavior.

John is Visiting Professor at Utrecht University, Netherlands (Social Psychology Unit) and Director (member of the board) at ACON. He also serves on a range of domestic and international advisory and steering committees, boards of governments, community organisations and professional bodies, and recurrently contributes to consultations of WHO and UNAIDS.

John is a member of a number of professional organisations, including the American Psychological Association (Health Psychology division), Australasian Society for Behavioural Health and Medicine, European Health Psychology Society, International Academy of Sex Research (elected member), International AIDS Society, and International Association of Applied Psychology.