Dr Michael Traeger, PhD
Epidemiologist & Research Fellow
Deputy Head, HIV & STI Prevention Working Group
Burnet Institute, Melbourne
Michael Traeger is an epidemiologist specialising in HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with a focus on disease surveillance, prevention strategies, and the implementation of large-scale public health interventions.
His work uses large-scale clinical and surveillance datasets to evaluate population-level trends and the impact of interventions such as PrEP, doxycycline prophylaxis, and novel testing approaches.
He is also a Research Fellow at the Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, where he works on HIV prevention among key populations.
Key research interests: infectious disease epidemiology, disease surveillance, HIV & STI prevention, implementation science, biostatistics, and sexual health.
Research
Michael’s research spans:
Infectious disease epidemiology
Disease surveillance and real-world data
HIV & STI prevention strategies
Implementation science and public health policy
Biostatistics and population-level analyses
Selected publications
Traeger MW et al. Association of HIV preexposure prophylaxis with incidence of sexually transmitted infections among individuals at high risk of HIV infection. JAMA. 2019;321(14):1380-1390. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.2947. Link. PDF.
Traeger MW et al. Doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis and sexually transmitted infections among individuals using HIV preexposure prophylaxis. JAMA Internal Medicine. 6 Jan 2025. Link. PDF.
Traeger MW et al. Real-world trends in incidence of bacterial sexually transmissible infections among gay and bisexual men using HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis following nation-wide pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation in Australia: an analysis of sentinel surveillance data. Lancet Infectious Diseases. Online 25 May 2022. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00175X. Link. PDF.
Grants & funding
NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, Investigator Grant
MRFF-funded ITEST Study evaluating implementation of syphilis self-testing
Academic appointments
2025: Deputy Head, HIV & STI Prevention Working Group, Burnet Institute
2025: Member, Sexual Health National Advisory Group, ASHM
2024: Associate Editor, Sexually Transmitted Infections — BMJ Journals
2024: Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University
2023: Research Fellow, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School / Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Awards
2026: Finalist — Victorian Premier’s Award for Public Health Research
2023: NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, Investigator Grant
2022: Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Alliance Young Leader Award
2022: Fulbright Future Scholarship, Australian-American Fulbright Commission
2021: Gilead Australia Fellowship
Education
2023: Doctor of Philosophy, Epidemiology — Monash University & Burnet Institute
2017: Master of Science, Epidemiology — University of Melbourne
2014: Bachelor of Science — University of Melbourne