Background

Professor Power retired (Dec 2019) from his key leadership roles at Burnet but will continue in a consultancy capacity across several research and public health projects for the Institute in 2020. Professor Robert Power is a social scientist who has worked in the field of HIV prevention and social behavioural research since 1985, with several posts within Medical Schools in the University of London.

His main focus has been on community-level public health interventions and research into social determinants of health amongst marginalised populations. He was the technical director on major Australian Aid and USAID bilaterals in Indonesia, as well as Program Director for Australian Aid's Tibet Health program. He completed seven years a technical director of UKAID's main regional HIV prevention program in Central Asia. Robert has consulted in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Balkans, South-East Asia and China. He was instrumental in developing rapid assessment methodologies, completing such studies in Croatia and Egypt, the Czech Republic and Vietnam.

Other areas of his work include: the broad empirical and theoretical aspects of harm reduction; monitoring and evaluation; ethnography and innovative participatory research methods.

Qualifications

• 1982: PhD, London School of Economics, United Kingdom
• 1982: Post Graduate Certificate in Education, University of London, United Kingdom
• 1978: BSc (Econ) London School of Economics, United Kingdom

Appointments

• 2005: Professorial Fellow, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• 2007: Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
• 1995-2005: Reader in Social & Health Sciences Research, Centre for Sexual Health & HIV Research, Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College, London, United Kingdom
• 1988-1995: Senior Research Fellow & Honorary Senior Lecturer, The Centre for Research on Drugs & Health Behaviour, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London, United Kingdom
• 1985-1988: Research Fellow, Drug Indicators Project, Department of Politics & Sociology, Birkbeck College, University of London, United Kingdom

Awards

• 2008: Shortlisted: Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, Victoria, Australia
• 2007: Commended: International Healthcare Project of the Year; Technical Director of DfID’s Central Asia Regional HIV/AIDS Program. Awarded by British Department of Health, United Kingdom
• 1998: Ministry of Health Medal: Egypt
• 1992: Society for the Study of Addiction: Travel Fellowship USA (University of Chicago; University of California; University of Denver) USA

Positions

• 2020: Consultant on key projects, Burnet Institute
• 2017: Head of International Operations, Burnet Institute
• 2013-17: Head of Centre for International Health, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia
• 2008: Principal for Harm Reduction, Senior Principal Fellow, Burnet Institute, Victoria, Australia
• 2005-2008: Director of the Centre for Harm Reduction, Burnet Institute, Australia

Reports + Policy Briefs

2021 (2) 

• The Optimise Study: Vaccination knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Kwong E, Heath K, Altermatt A, Munari S. Merner B, Hill S, Stoové M, Griffiths D, Collie A, Lim M, Eddy S, Meagher N, McDougall C, Marinkovic Chavez K, Carpenter L, Fletcher-Lartey S, Price D, Gibbs L, Shearer F, Power R, Cheong M, Caddy C, Pedrana A, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. August, 2021.
• The Optimise Study: Impact of government restrictions on risk mitigation strategies. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Kwong E, Heath K, Altermatt A, Munari S. Merner B, Hill S, Power R, Cheong M, Caddy C, Griffiths D, Collie A, Stoové M, Pedrana A, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. July, 2021.