Professor Stephen Bell

Steve is a senior social scientist with 24 years of experience tackling global health challenges in settings across Southeast Asia, Africa, Pacific and Europe. He works respectfully with not-for-profits, public institutions, businesses and community organisations. He uses innovative, inclusive, people-centred approaches to identify sustainable solutions to critical health challenges and accelerate health equity.

At Burnet Institute, Steve is Senior Principal Research Fellow, Co-Head of Global Adolescent Health, and Theme Lead of Social Science and Global Health. His role involves research on young people’s sexual, reproductive and maternal health, including:

• adolescent-responsive health services and systems
• contraceptive innovation
• safe abortion
• enabling socio-structural environments
• the intersections of health and climate change.

Steve provides methodological expertise, technical support and mentoring in:

• social science, co-design and community-based, community-led research practice across the Institute’s global health programs; and
• business development across working groups and programs.

He also:

• supports a growing regional network of Youth Labs for youth-led innovation across Asia and the Pacific
• manages and delivers consultancy, advisory and research work for institutional partners.

Steve's work brings together transdisciplinary social science and socio-ecological thinking to understand what works (or not) in global health. He is particularly interested in understanding the socio-structural determinants of health and social inequities, and injustices associated with marginalisation due to gender, sexuality, age and geography.

Steve has researched and published on sexual and reproductive health, HIV, maternal health, neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis and Indigenous health.

He has published two edited collections on interpretive and community-led approaches in research, design, monitoring and evaluation. With international colleagues, he’s working on a third edited collection called Lived experience: critical perspectives in a changing world.

Steve is currently taking on new PhD students who are interested in undertaking research in any of these areas, so please reach out to him for a chat.

Aside from Burnet, Steve is:

• Commissioner for The Lancet Global Health Commission on People-Centered Care for Universal Health Coverage
• Technical Consultant (Strategy and Insights) with Population Services International
• a member of the International Editorial Board at Culture, Health & Sexuality.

He has served as a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group and has worked in senior research and consultancy roles with international governments, non-governmental organisations, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organization.

Steve holds adjunct/affiliate appointments at Harvard Medical School, Monash University, University of Melbourne, Deakin University and UNSW Sydney.

• 2009: PhD in Global Health and Sustainable Development, University of London, UK
• 2003: MA in Environment and Development (with Distinction), University of London, UK
• 2000: BA Hons. in Human Geography, University of Leeds, UK

• 2025–present: Affiliate Faculty, Center for Primary Care, Harvard Medical School
• 2025–present: Adjunct Professor (Research), Evidence Synthesis Qualitative and Implementation Methods, School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University
• 2024–present: Honorary Principal Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne
• 2024-present: Affiliate Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Deakin University
• 2024–25: Adjunct Associate Professor (Research), Monash University
• 2023–present: Research Consultant, Strategy and Insights Department, Population Services International
• 2023–present: Adjunct Associate Professor, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney
• 2022–25: Honorary Associate Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland
• 2023: Senior Advisor, Global Health Consulting and Strategy, Boston Consulting Group
• 2022–23: Adjunct Associate Professor, UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney
• 2015–21: Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney

• July 2025–present: Senior Principal Research Fellow, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, Burnet Institute, Australia
• March 2024–present: Theme Lead, Social Science and Global Health, Burnet Institute, Australia
• Sep 2023–25: Principal Research Fellow, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, Burnet Institute, Australia
• 2021–2022: Associate Professor, UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, The University of Queensland, Australia
• 2015–2021: Senior Research Fellow, Global Health Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Australia
• 2013–2015: Research Fellow, Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia
• 2012–2013: Senior Technical Advisor – Research, M&E and Social Development, Options Consultancy Services, UK
• 2011: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Sussex, UK
• 2010–12: Director, Bell & Payne Research & Consulting, UK
• 2007–10: Research Manager, Social Research Institute, Ipsos MORI, UK
• 2003–07: Assistant Lecturer, Centre for Developing Areas Research Group, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
• 2001: Peer Educator – HIV and SRH, Restless Development, Zimbabwe

• 2020–21: UNSW Bridging Fellowship, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney
• 2019: Australasian Sexual Health Conference Sexual Health Society of Victoria Best Poster Award
• 2011: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Economic and Social Research Council, UK
• 2003–07: PhD Studentship, Economic and Social Research Council, UK
• 2003: ‘Alan Mountjoy’ Prize – best independent dissertation on international development (2003)
• 2002–03: MA Scholarship, University of London, UK