ASHM, the Kirby Institute and the broader HIV and sexual health sector are mourning the loss of Dr Nicholas Medland, who passed away suddenly in the United Kingdom on Friday 21 February.
Dr Nick Medland was a clinical epidemiologist at the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, researching the community impact of interventions to prevent infectious disease transmission.
A gifted, passionate and effective leader, Nick played a pivotal role in shaping HIV and sexual health clinical and public health practice in Australia.
Nick trained as a doctor and then went to work at the Victorian AIDS Council Gay Men’s Health Centre and the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre where he embarked on a PhD. This, together with his degree in English literature undertaken at University College London after his medical training, helped shape his insights into the world and its people. He was driven by a strong belief in the importance of community and particularly community-led health initiatives. Later, in Vietnam, working on a range of HIV programs with the US CDC and FHI 360, Nick also developed a deep understanding of how to make the health system a potent shaper of health outcomes.
Professor Anthony Kelleher, Director of the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney said it was the combination of these experiences that drove his research interests at the Kirby Institute.
“Nick was an outstanding collaborator. His ability to seamlessly work across clinical, academic, community and activist spaces was exceptional and highly effective. We will miss him, and his generous and selfless contributions greatly,” he said.
From 2020 – 2023, Dr Nick Medland was the President of ASHM and prior to that he was a board member for more than a decade. Nick was the current chair of the Australian Sexually Transmissible Infections Management Guidelines for Use in Primary Care and led the update to include tests for HIV and syphilis with all STI testing in Australia. He was also pivotal in developing the highly effective primary healthcare response to mpox playing a critical role in development of clinical guidelines and training programs.
“Dr Medland was a leader in the HIV, blood-borne virus and sexual and reproductive health workforce,” said Alexis Apostolellis, CEO of ASHM. “He was a true champion of human rights and health equity. He was a passionate, caring sexual health physician and worked tirelessly for more than two decades for his patients and his community. He contributed to ASHM and the sector in countless ways, and he will be sorely missed.”
We extend our deepest condolences to Nick’s partner of 36 years, Mark, and to his whole family and many friends and colleagues. Vale Nick.
