Board of Directors

President – ​Dr Nicholas Medland (VIC)

MBBS; BA Hons; PhD; FAChSHM, FRCP(UK)

Nick is a senior researcher and NHMRC research fellow with the Surveillance, Evaluation and Research Program of the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales. His research specialities include use of large administrative and clinical data sets to address important public health questions. Specifically this include coverage of antiretroviral therapy and pre-exposure prophylaxis and progress toward HIV elimination goals. He is also a sexual health physician with 22 years of clinical experience in HIV and sexual health medicine.

He has previously been a high caseload GP in Melbourne and has worked extensively in international/regional HIV programs in Asia, in particular in Vietnam. He also sits on the executive committee of the Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine and chairs the Australian STI Management Guidelines committee. In 2020 he has chaired the ASHM COVID-19 Asia Pacific Regional Advisory Group.

​Vice President – ​Clinical A/Prof Louise Owen (TAS)

MBBS (Hons); FRACGP; FAChSHM

Louise is a Sexual Health Physician who has been working in the area of sexual health for many years and the Director of the Statewide Sexual Health Service in Tasmania. Louise is raising the profile of Sexual Health in Tasmania, along with clinical and education roles. Raising awareness about STI management in primary care, encouraging GPs to be involved in HIV shared care and involvement in Hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment are also part of her role.

Louise lectures at tertiary, post graduate and undergraduate levels around HIV, Hepatitis, sexual health and related topics. Louise is a member of the Chapter of Sexual Health Physicians’ Education committee and is on a number of steering committees covering matters such as transgender health, Syphilis & STIs and HIV. She is an executive member of the national “Eliminate Hepatitis Australia ” Project and very pleased to be continuing her work with ASHM.

Vice President - Penny Kenchington (QLD)

MNsg (NP); Grad Dip PH; Grad Dip Hth Man; Grad Cert Forensic Nsg; Dip app Sc (Nsg)

Memberships: ACNP, FAMSACA; ASHM; ESC; QNU

Penny has been working in the Sexual Health, HIV and Hepatitis health sector as a specialist nurse since 1995 and is currently the Nurse Practitioner at the Townsville Sexual Health Service. She has extensive knowledge and skills in BBV nursing, sexual health, women’s health, reproductive health, genital dermatology and forensic nursing.

Penny sits on ASHM’s nurse’s subcommittee, the ASHM’s Finance, Risk Management and Audit Sub-Committee and ASHM’s (QLD) Expert Reference Committee for the HIV, Viral Hepatitis, Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Workforce Development Program and the QLD Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer (OCNMO) Nurse Practitioner Reference Group.

After helping with many years of lobbying Penny is now an HCV prescriber and is working towards becoming an HBV and HIV prescriber. She also supports the sexual health program in a large Aboriginal Community which includes monitoring and managing patients with chronic Hepatitis B.

Dr Sam Elliott (SA)

MBBS; Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; FRACGP

Sam is a principal GP with 29 years of rural and urban General Practice experience incorporating 20 years of HIV and Viral Hepatitis management.

He is committed to participation in HIV and viral hepatitis research.

Prof Charles Gilks (QLD)

PhD, MSc, MBBS w/Hons, MA, BA

Charles has been working in the HIV/AIDS field since the mid 1980s as a clinical academic, describing the clinical spectrum of AIDS in Africa, then conducting formative trials of disease prophylaxis and antiretroviral therapy. Aiming to get his research into policy and practice, he moved to WHO Geneva in 2001 to lead treatment and prevention scale-up, including 3by5.  His team generated all treatment and prevention guidelines for resource-limited settings and published the landmark Lancet modelling study that sparked Treatment as Prevention.

In 2009 he moved to India as UNAIDS country coordinator to support the national response to HIV. He was appointed Head of the School of Public Health at The University of Queensland in 2013 and in 2014 became the first Queensland Professorial chair of HIV and STls. As a clinical researcher, he has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers, with 17,500+ citations. His Google H index is 67.

​Dr Joan Ingram (NZ)

MB ChB 1985 Auckland; FRACP 1993; DTM & H (London) 1990

Joan is an Infectious Diseases Physician working at Auckland City Hospital which provides care for all those with HIV in the northern region of New Zealand. She has been involved in the care of those with HIV since 1987 and an ASHM board member since 2015.

She is a clinician primarily but has been an investigator in clinical studies. Joan completed her Infectious Diseases training in Auckland, Duke University in North Carolina and then as an HIV Fellow at the University of Maryland.

Dr David Iser (VIC)

MBBS (Hons); BMedSc; FRACP; PhD

Dr David Iser is a Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist in Melbourne, affiliated with the Department of Gastroenterology at St. Vincent’s Hospital and the Infectious Diseases Unit at The Alfred Hospital.

David has a broad experience treating people living with viral hepatitis in a variety of settings, including those living with advanced cirrhosis, HIV-viral hepatitis co-infection, Rural Australia, Clinical Trials, Opiate Substitution Services and as part of the Statewide Hepatitis Program across Victorian Prisons.

David works closely with colleagues to help improve access to care and simplify treatment pathways for people living with viral hepatitis.​

Dr James McMahon (VIC)

PhD; Master of Public Health; Fellow RACP; MBBS

Dr McMahon is an Infectious Diseases clinician researcher, Head of Clinical Research at the Alfred Hospital and ID physician at Monash Medical Centre. His research interests are in clinical trials focused on HIV Cure, antiretroviral therapy and the cascade of HIV care. Specific interests include developing non-invasive imaging methods to locate and quantify tissue sites of HIV and clinical trials of interventions targeting the HIV reservoir including latency reversal agents and agents to increase HIV-specific immune responses. He also Chairs the Antiretroviral Guidelines Committee for the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) and sits on the ASHM Board.

Robert Monaghan (NSW)

Robert is the Managing Director of Monaghan Dreaming; a 100% Aboriginal owned consultancy Firm. He is a descendant of the Bundjalung and Gumbaynggir Nations on his grandmother’s side, his family and extended family are from the North Coast alongside the Clarence River at Baryulgil.

He has spent 25 years working within the Health sector with National, State and Local Governments working within the Aboriginal community-controlled sector.

Currently Robert is involved in research projects at University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) Kirby Institute for the past 8 years in Aboriginal communities across Australia whilst completing a Master of Public Health degree and a PhD involving research in Novel initiatives to enhance Indigenous people's engagement in health services.

Robert has a diverse range of learnt and lived experiences that he attributes to working in and with communities that are passionate about the equality for Aboriginal people and culture. Throughout his career, he has been exposed to a diverse range of client groups, services models or practices, working environments and stakeholders in which has enabled me to apply high level of flexibly and proficiency in communication, innovation, management, research and technical expertise.

Dr Jason Ong (VIC)

PhD, MMed (Hons), MBBS, FAChSHM, FRACGP

Jason is a sexual health physician based at Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and an academic with joint appointments at Monash University, University of Melbourne and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His passion is to ensure access to comprehensive sexual health services to all who need it (in Australia and through his research in China and sub-Saharan Africa). He was based in London during 2017-2018 for his postdoctoral training in health economics.

His current committee commitments also include the Sexual Health Society of Victoria, Royal Australasian College of Physicians Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine, the Australasian Sexual Health Alliance, and the World Health Organization STI Guidelines Development Group.

He is the Special Issues Editor for Sexual Health and Associate Editor for BMJ’s Sexually Transmitted Infections and BMC Infectious Diseases.

​Dr Belinda Wozencroft (WA)

MB; BS

​Dr Belinda Wozencroft is a General Practitioner with a special interest in women’s health, sexual health and HIV medicine. Originally trained as a Registered Nurse where she worked in remote Aboriginal communities, before studying Medicine at UWA. Belinda has completed further post-graduate studies, which include Diploma of Obstetrics, Graduate Certificate in Women’s Health and Diploma of Child Health. Belinda is registered as an S-100 prescriber for antiretroviral medications.

She considers herself as a medium case-load GP in terms of PLWHIV. Belinda is the Principal at View Street Medical in North Perth. She undertakes additional relief work in remote Aboriginal communities, with a focus on women's health.