Research Reflections with Associate Professor Garrett Prestage

Associate Professor Garrett Prestage has played a defining role in HIV research and gay men’s health throughout his long and influential career. In this special talk, Garrett reflects on his life and work within Australia’s gay communities — exploring how the concept of community has shaped his contributions and what those communities have taught him in return.

He will discuss how these insights informed his groundbreaking research, and what they mean for addressing the challenges facing LGBTIQ+ communities today.

Presented by: Thorne Harbour Health & the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University.

About Garrett:
Garrett has worked in gay community–based research across five decades, including at the Kirby Institute (1992–2025) and ARCSHS (2010–2019). A Mardi Gras 78er, he founded the gay and lesbian youth service TwentyTen and led Sydney’s first safe sex campaign. Garrett has led most major gay men’s cohort studies since the 1990s, including the HIV Seroconversion Study, and initiated the Gay Community Periodic Surveys. His work on identity, community, and the negotiation of risk and pleasure has significantly informed HIV prevention campaigns — including the early uptake of PrEP.