Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Professor Zhang is currently the head of the Artificial Intelligence and Modelling in Epidemiology Program at the School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Australia.
He completed his Bachelor and Masters in Mathematics at the University of Sydney in 2002. He then pursued his PhD in Medicine at the University of New South Wales in HIV pathology. In 2006, He accepted a postdoctoral position offer at Humboldt University, Berlin and researched topics of bioinformatics. He completed a Master of Public Health in 2009. During 2009-2015, he served as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at Kirby Institute, UNSW. He was appointed Associate Professor at the School of Translational, Faculty of Medicine Monash University in 2015 and subsequently Professor in the same institute in 2022.
Prof Zhang is a very experienced modeller and epidemiologist in HIV/STI research. He has cross-disciplinary research experience in mathematics, epidemiology, artificial intelligence, and cost-effectiveness evaluation. He also has a strong background in statistical analysis and computational research. He conducts high-quality HIV/STI research. So far, he has published 266 publications (251 papers, 6 book chapters, 9 technical reports), 181 of which are first/senior authored. He regularly publishes in leading journals (Lancet HIV, Lancet GH, Lancet RH, Lancet ID, Genetics in Medicine, Journal of Infection, International Journal of Epidemiology, PNAS, CID, AIDS and JAIDS). He has led or contributed to six international projects with UNAIDS, the World Bank and the WHO. These findings have been translated into health policies that foster effective HIV interventions in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. He has developed and demonstrated his leadership in these projects. His papers have been cited more than 7000 times (>4700 cites in the past five years). He has also given more than 40 oral and post-conference presentations at several national and international conferences. He established the China-Australia Joint Research Center for Infectious Diseases which facilitated a strong collaboration in education and research between Monash University and Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. He has supervised 6 PhD and 15 master students to completion. Currently, he is (co-)supervising 11 PhD and 13 master students. Throughout his career, he has established a strong collaboration with ministries of health from multiple countries in the Western Pacific and international organisations (WHO, UNAIDS, and the World Bank). He also served as a long-time consultant and technical advisor to the WHO Western Pacific Region.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Medicine, Master of Public Health, Hamburger Universität angewandte Wissenschaften (Hamburg University of Applied Sciences)
1 Mar 2008 → 31 Aug 2009
Award Date: 31 Aug 2009
Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales (UNSW)
1 Mar 2003 → 31 Mar 2006
Award Date: 31 Mar 2006
Applied Mathematics, Master of Science, University of Sydney
1 Mar 2001 → 31 Mar 2003
Award Date: 31 Mar 2003
Mathematics, Bachelor of Advanced Science, University of Sydney
1 Mar 1997 → 31 Mar 2001
Award Date: 31 Mar 2001
External positions
Senior Visiting Scholar, University of New South Wales (UNSW)
1 May 2015 → …
Adjunct Associate Professor, Tsinghua University
1 Apr 2015 → 31 Dec 2018
Technical Consultant, WHO - WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific
1 Jul 2014 → …
Technical Consultant, Harm Reduction International
1 Jun 2014 → 30 Jun 2016
HIV Consultant, World Bank (United States of America)
1 Jan 2010 → 31 Dec 2010
Research area keywords
- Epidemiology
- HIV
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Health Economics
- Mathematical Modelling
- Machine Learning
- COVID-19
- Diabetes
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Novel strategies for improving syphilis testing and control
Chen, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Williamson, D. A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hocking, J. S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Chow, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Temple-Smith, M. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ong, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Tomnay, J. E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fairley, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zhang, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kaldor, J. M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bilardi, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Wigan, B. (Project Manager) & Pasricha, S. (Associate Investigator (AI))
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia), Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
1/04/21 → 31/03/26
Project: Research
-
To support the WHO Global Programme on STIs with a systematic review, tool and a vaccine value profile
Ong, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) & Zhang, L. (Partner Investigator (PI))
22/04/22 → 30/09/22
Project: Research
-
HOPE: Ending HIV transmission by Optimizing Pre-exposure prophylaxis in East Asia (HOPE)
Ong, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Zhang, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Phillips, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Chow, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lee, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fairley, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Grulich, A. E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bavinton, B. R. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Schmidt, H. M. A. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/01/22 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
-
Strategical Expansion of Australian Excellency of Diabetes Research via practical connection and cooperation in China
Chai, Z.-L. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Zimmet, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Jandeleit-Dahm, K. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Slattery, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zhang, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Liu, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Bu, P. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/10/21 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
-
A randomised controlled trial of daily antibacterial mouthwash to reduce pharyngeal gonorrhoea among men who have sex with men (MSM)
Chow, E. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Fairley, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bradshaw, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zhang, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hocking, J. S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lewis, D. A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Chen, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Read, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Whiley, D. (Chief Investigator (CI))
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/17 → 31/12/19
Project: Research
-
Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of Diabetes Incidence and Mortality in China and Globally, 1990–2019
Liu, J., Shen, M., Zhuang, G. & Zhang, L., Feb 2025, In: Journal of Diabetes. 17, 2, 3 p., e70051.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › Other › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Correction to: Hierarchical skin lesion image classification with prototypical decision tree (npj Digital Medicine, (2025), 8, 1, (26), 10.1038/s41746-024-01395-z)
Yu, Z., Nguyen, T. D., Ju, L., Gal, Y., Sashindranath, M., Bonnington, P., Zhang, L., Mar, V. & Ge, Z., 21 Feb 2025, In: npj Digital Medicine. 8, 1, 1 p., 116.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment / Debate › Other › peer-review
Open Access -
Exploring artificial intelligence for differentiating early syphilis from other skin lesions: a pilot study
Sun, J., Li, Y., Yu, Z., Towns, J. M., Soe, N. N., Latt, P. M., Zhang, L., Ge, Z., Fairley, C. K., Ong, J. J. & Zhang, L., 8 Jan 2025, In: BMC Infectious Diseases. 25, 1, 10 p., 40.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Exploring the diversity of sexual acts in Chinese men who have sex with men and its impacts on the risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections
Liu, Y., She, B., Zhao, R., Li, G., Hu, Y., Lu, F., Su, S. & Zhang, L., Jan 2025, In: Public Health. 238, p. 37-44 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Global Trends and Inequalities of Liver Complications Related to Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: An Analysis From 1990 to 2021
Lu, F., Liu, J., She, B., Yang, H., Ji, F. & Zhang, L., Apr 2025, In: Liver International. 45, 4, 14 p., e16120.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access6 Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
-
2021 Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Alliance (ASRHA) Innovation Award
Chow, E. (Recipient), Fairley, C. (Recipient), Chen, M. (Recipient), Bradshaw, C. (Recipient), Zhang, L. (Recipient), Hocking, J. S. (Recipient) & Williamson, D. A. (Recipient), 6 Sept 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
Clinical research and bigdata forum 2020
Zhang, L. (Contributor)
1 Nov 2020Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
-
Joint Australasian HIV&AIDS and Sexual Health Conferences 2020
Zhang, L. (Speaker)
16 Nov 2020 → 20 Nov 2020Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
-
Public Lecture, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
Zhang, L. (Contributor)
29 Oct 2020Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
-
2020 Childhood Obesity & COVID-19 Prevention and Control International Symposium,
Zhang, L. (Organiser)
19 Sept 2020 → 20 Sept 2020Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
-
iHarbour Lecture Series, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Jiaotong, X. (Contributor)
26 Oct 2019Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar