Simon is a McKenzie postdoctoral fellow and Poche associate at the University of Melbourne. In 2008, he completed a Master of Applied Epidemiology at the Australian National University and in 2014, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in epidemiology and sexually transmissible infections from the University of New South Wales.
His PhD evaluated a clinical sexual health and viral hepatitis intervention with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in New South Wales known as SHIMMER. The intervention tripled sexual health and hepatitis testing, improved the management of these infections and established a systematic approach to testing, treatment and management. This included identifying asymptomatic infections and providing prompt treatment or management to reduce the incidence of adverse outcomes from these infections.
For his Fulbright postdoctoral fellowship, Simon will be based at the Center for HIV Educational Studies & Training (CHEST) at Hunter College, City University of New York. His research will focus on developing community based sexual health strategies that could be used with clinic based approaches to decrease rates of sexually transmissible infections particularly for young people. The research aims to use social media and mobile phone applications to support young people to take control of their health and to make informed sexual health decisions that will lower their risk of infection.
Previously, Simon spent a number of years in Thailand and Vietnam working for non-government organizations. His role included, training large multinational company employees about the risks of sexual infections and support for employees living with HIV. He worked with executive board members to improve the human resources policies relating to employment and job promotion for people living with HIV. This role also involved assisting families affected by HIV in poor areas of Bangkok to access medical services and treatment.
Simon aims to broaden his approaches to sexual health and young people through working with American colleagues who have developed innovative ways to engage with and empower young people from a range of cultural backgrounds to decrease their risk of sexually transmissible infections.