Max Hopwood

Dr. Max Hopwood is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH) within the University of New South Wales (UNSW). With a PhD from Maastricht University's Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (2007) and 25 years of experience, he specializes in the social dimensions of blood-borne virus prevention, focusing on HIV, viral hepatitis, and related stigma. His work spans harm reduction strategies, illicit drug use dynamics, and public health policy analysis, particularly regarding marginalized communities.

• Fields of Expertise
  • Social dimensions of infectious disease
  • Stigma and discrimination research
  • Harm reduction policy implementation
  • Illicit and injecting drug use studies
• Academic Background
  • BA(Hons) and PhD in Social Psychology
• Research Engagement
  • Active member of CSRH Centre Management Committee
  • Member of CSRH Research Committee
  • Chair of CSRH Seminar Committee

His research explores hepatitis B-related stigma among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, social support mechanisms in HIV/hepatitis contexts, and structural barriers to direct-acting antiviral therapies. Recent work examines chemsex culture among Australian gay and bisexual men, while earlier studies focused on interferon-based treatments and needle exchange programs.

Teaching: Delivers the UNSW course SLSP3002 Research Methods and supervises PhD candidates at CSRH.