Professor Mark A Stoové
Head of Public Health
Working groups

Background
Professor Stoové is Head of Public Health at Burnet Institute where he also heads research groups in HIV Prevention and Justice Health. He has undertaken research on the epidemiology and prevention of blood borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections and the health and wellbeing of affected populations for over 20 years. His research focuses is on generating evidence for effective public health policy and practice.
He has strong interests in developing novel and innovative approaches to epidemiological research to inform clinical and public health policy and practice He has led the development and maintenance of innovative sentinel surveillance systems for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and blood borne viruses in developed and low and middle income countries.
He has also led large bio-behavioural prospective cohort studies of people who inject drugs and other groups disproportionately affected by viral hepatitis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. I has helped lead large-scale sexual health and sexually transmitted infection prevention program implementations and randomised controlled trials in Australia and low income settings internationally.
He has published over 200 peer reviewed paper and assumes various editorial roles for international peer review journal editorial roles as well as conference convening roles. Over the past five years he has attracted in excess of AUD$30 million in research funds as a lead investigator.
Qualifications
- 2004: PhD, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
- 1999: Grad Dip (Ed) RMIT, Melbourne, Australia
- 1995: BA AppSci (Hons, First Class), Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Positions
- 2017: Co-Head, Eliminate HIV sub-Program, Disease Elimination Program, Burnet Institute
- 2012: Head, HIV Research; Head, Justice Health Research, Burnet Institute
- 2017: Head of Public Health Discipline, Burnet Institute
- 2011: Principal for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Burnet Institute
- 2007-2012: Senior Research Fellow / Head of HIV/STI Research - Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Victoria, Australia
- 2007-present: Honorary Research Fellow - School of Psychology, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
- 2008-present: Adjunct Research Fellow – Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
Reports + Policy Briefs
2022 (7)
- The Optimise Study: COVID-19 vaccine intention, and adherence to isolation and quarantine recommendations. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Jin D, Saich F, Heath K, Altermatt A, Wilkinson A, Merner B, Ryan R, Pedrana A, Stoové M, Gibney K, Hellard M. Burnet Institute Optimise Study. September, 2022.
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The Optimise Study: COVID-19 related worry, acceptability of prevention measures and confidence in Government. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Jin D, Saich F, Heath K, Altermatt A, Merner B, Ryan R, Lusher D, Wang P, Pedrana A, Stoové M, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. August, 2022.
- The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining frequency, impacts of long COVID and associated concerns. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Hellard M, Gibney K, Stoové M, Chavez KM, Wilkinson A, Heath K, Altermatt A, Young K, Nguyen T, Gibbs L, Osborne D, Jin D, Saich F. The Optimise Study. August, 2022.
- The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining the influence of potential cessation of the Victorian pandemic declaration. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Hellard M, Gibney K, Stoové M, Wilkinson A, Heath K, Altermatt A, Young K, Nguyen T, Jin D, Saich F. The Optimise Study. June, 2022.
- The Optimise Study: COVID-19 testing, test positivity and contacts over time. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Jin D, Heath K, Altermatt A, Merner B, Wilkinson A, Hill S, Stoové M, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. May, 2022.
- The Optimise Study: Summer 2021-2022 Snapshot. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Hellard M, Gibney K, Stoové M, Young K, Altermatt A, Heath K, Thomas A, Nguyen T, Wilkinson A, Merner B, Hill S, Saich F, Jin D. The Optimise Study. April, 2022.
- The Optimise Study: COVID-19 worry and perceptions about infection and potential severity. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Tse WC, Heath K, Altermatt A, Merner B, Hill S, Jin D, Stoové M, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. March, 2022.
2021 (7)
- The Optimise Study:- Impacts of the COVID-19 response on culturally and linguistically diverse communities. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Heath K, Altermatt A, Menon V, Munari S, Merner B, Hill S, Shearer F, Gibbs L, Coelho A, Fletcher-Lartey S, Stoové M, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. December, 2021.
- COVID-19 testing in schools and attitudes and concerns about the current state of the pandemic. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Heath K, Altermatt A, Thomas A, Nguyen T, Wilinson A, Merner B, Hill S, Fletcher-Lartey S, Gibbs L, Gibbs L, Shearer F, Stoové M, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. November, 2021.
- COVID-19 testing and vaccination. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Heath K, Altermatt A, Munari S, Merner B, Hill S, Stoové M, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. October, 2021.
- 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.
- The Optimise Study: The impact of COVID-19 on income and finances. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Kwong E, Heath K, Altermatt A, Munari S. Merner B, Hill S, Griffiths D, Collie A, Stoové M, Pedrana A, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. June, 2021.
- The Optimise Study: Gendered differences in coping and responding to COVID-19. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Saich F, Kwong E, Heath K, Altermatt A, Munari S. Merner B, Hill S, Stoové M, Pedrana A, Gibney K, Hellard M. The Optimise Study. May, 2021.
Reports and other work
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The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining frequency, impacts of long COVID and associated concerns. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
Long COVID is estimated to be costing the Australian economy $3.6 billion annually.1 Partly because of the variation in the definition of long COVID
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining frequency, impacts of long COVID and associated concerns. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) -
The Forest proposal
Explains how we developed The Forest - a model to address underlying causes of incarceration.
The Forest proposal -
The Forest co-design report (Burnet Institute and Paper Giant)
Describes the process and evidence behind The Forest - a model to address underlying causes of incarceration.
The Forest co-design report (Burnet Institute and Paper Giant)
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Economic and health cost benefit impacts of The Forest (Insight Economics)
Describes the economic and social benefits of The Forest - a model to address underlying causes of incarceration.
Economic and health cost benefit impacts of The Forest (Insight Economics) -
The Optimise Study: COVID-19 worry and perceptions about infection and potential severity. (PUBLiC HEALTH REPORT)
This report evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on participants’ lives: their main concerns, risk perception, and confidence in the State and Federal Governments’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This report focusses on trends over the past six months (between September 2021 and February 2022).
The Optimise Study: COVID-19 worry and perceptions about infection and potential severity. (PUBLiC HEALTH REPORT) -
2019: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report
Hepatitis C poses a significant public health concern in Australia, with over 170,000 individuals estimated to be living with chronic hepatitis C infection as of the beginning of 2017. Until the availability of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for all Medicare-eligible Australians with hepatitis C infection on March 1st, 2016, there was a growing population of individuals living with hepatitis C. This trend was accompanied by an increasing burden of liver disease, rising rates of liver cancer, and premature deaths attributed to long-term hepatitis C infection.
2019: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report -
2024: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report
2024: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report -
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining the influence of potential cessation of the Victorian pandemic declaration. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining the influence of potential cessation of the Victorian pandemic declaration. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) -
The Optimise Study: COVID-19 testing, test positivity and contacts over time. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
The Optimise Study: COVID-19 testing, test positivity and contacts over time. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
Burnet publications
View 335 moreThe hepatitis C cascade of care for opioid agonist therapy recipients in Australia
Clinical Infectious Diseases
S. Griffin et al
Balancing Efficiency and Accuracy in Hepatitis C Rapid Antibody Testing: Insights From a Cluster Randomised Crossover Trial
Journal of Viral Hepatitis
Katherine Heath et al
Epistemic preparedness
BMJ Global Health
Warwick Anderson et al
Current projects
View 17 more
Understanding the needs of multicultural communities (VOICE partnership)
TREAT-HEP: community-based viral hepatitis testing and treatment project in Yangon, Myanmar
This project delivers hepatitis C prevention, testing and treatment services and hepatitis B testing and vaccination services.

Methamphetamine and injecting drug use cohort studies: MIXMAX
MIXMAX is the largest active cohort study of people who use drugs in Australia. It combines 2 pre-existing studies: SuperMIX and VMAX.
Past projects
View 14 more
Novel Point-of-care Testing for Diagnosis of Active Syphilis in Pregnant Women and Infants in Fiji
Congenital syphilis (CS), caused by mother-to-child transmission of spirochete bacterium Treponema Pallidum (TP), is a major global health problem associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in children. Without adequate treatment CS causes significant developmental, neurological and musculoskeletal disability in children, and many infected infants will die within the first year of life. In 2016, estimated global incidence for CS was 473 (385-561) cases per 100,000 live births with a total of 661,000 (538,000-784,000) cases, including 355,000 (290,000-419,000) adverse birth outcomes (143,000 stillbirths; 61,000 neonatal deaths; 41,000 preterm/low- birth weight births; and 109,000 infants with clinical CS). Treatment of syphilis is simple, effective and inexpensive; however, definitive diagnosis of active syphilis requires confirmatory testing which requires laboratory facilities, and not always available in many low-resource settings in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 40 of the 81 LMICs which account for more than 95 per cent maternal deaths and more than 90 per cent of deaths in children under five years old, 74 per cent of pregnant women who had at least four antenatal care visits were not tested for syphilis. A combination of treponemal and non-treponemal tests is required for diagnosis of active syphilis but there is no point-of-care test (POCT) that can effectively distinguish between past/treated and active syphilis. There is no POCT for diagnosis of CS available on the market.

ACCESS Myanmar: Assessing the feasibility of an integrated HIV cascade of care surveillance system in Myanmar
ACCESS Myanmar will implement and evaluate an electronic health records data linkage system that effectively monitors the progress of patients through HIV testing and treatment episodes of care across a network of partnering community and government services.

CHINA-B study: Cancer information compared to Hepatitis B information to INcreAse hepatitis B testing in Melbourne’s Chinese community
This pilot and feasibility study aimed to increase hepatitis B testing in Melbourne’s Chinese community.
News and features
View 4 more
Global project aiming to 'break down' hepatitis C
On World Hepatitis Day, Burnet is actively supporting this year’s theme – ‘Let’s Break It Down’ – through our partnership in a global program to develop high-quality approaches to testing and treatment.

Prison needle programs could save double what they cost – our new modelling shows how
