Rate My Professor Judith Dean

Associate Professor Judith Dean serves as Principal Research Fellow at the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of Queensland. A Registered Nurse and Midwife with more than 25 years of clinical and research experience in sexual and reproductive health, HIV, and other blood-borne viruses, she earned a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Southern Queensland, a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Griffith University in 2014, titled 'Sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of Queensland Sudanese communities'. Her early career featured clinical roles as a midwife and sexual and reproductive health nurse across Australia and internationally, including over five years in the Northern Territory as a remote area nurse and two years with the International Committee of the Red Cross in South Sudan and Afghanistan developing midwifery training programs and models of care for women and families in conflict zones.

From 2002 to 2013, Dean held a joint appointment at Griffith University School of Nursing and Midwifery as Convenor of the Griffith Graduate Sexual Health Program and at Queensland Health as State Nurse Educator for Queensland Sexual Health and HIV Services, coordinating statewide clinical practice standards, policy, and professional development for advanced practice nurses. Joining the University of Queensland in 2015 as a Research Fellow in the School of Public Health until 2022, she led projects on HIV self-testing dissemination, peer-led molecular point-of-care STI testing, transgender care, syphilis in pregnancy, access to pregnancy options including abortion and contraception, and sexual health literacy among culturally and linguistically diverse youth. She contributed as coordinating investigator to the Queensland PrEP Demonstration Monitoring and Evaluation study from 2016 to 2019 and taught courses such as Health Policy in Practice and Global Health and Infectious Diseases. Since 2023 in her current role, her research evaluates 'Birthing in our Community' models for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and develops the 'Blak and Proud' model for Indigenous LGBTQAI+ Sistergirls and Brotherboys, employing mixed-methods and community-based participatory approaches to address health inequities. Key publications include 'A systematic scoping review of indigenous-specific research evidence on child sexual abuse' (Child Abuse & Neglect, 2026), 'Challenges and opportunities in the prevention of travel-related STIs' (Sexual Health, 2026), and the book chapter ''Nothing about us without us': researching sexual and reproductive health with priority populations' (Handbook of Sensitive Research in the Social Sciences, 2025). She supervises PhD, MPhil, Honours, and Master of Public Health students.