Leickness Simbayi, M.Sc., D.Phil.

Professor Simbayi is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) for Research (DCEO-R) of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa since 1 January 2016. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Sussex in England, United Kingdom. He is a registered Research Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa's Professional Board of Psychology and also a Member of Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). He is also currently an Honorary Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town. He is also a National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researcher.

During the past two decades Professor Simbayi has mostly conducted his research in the area of social aspects of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In particular, his research has focused on second-generation HIV surveillance especially using biobehavioural surveys, HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), determinants of HIV infection (such as poverty, alcohol and drug use, gender-based violence, sex in the presence of blood, multiple sexual partnerships, and male circumcision), and theory-based HIV social and behavioural risk reduction interventions including positive prevention which targets people living with HIV/AIDS who are aware of their status. He has published 138 scientific articles in both local and international peer-reviewed academic journals, 26 research reports, 15 abstracts, and 12 book chapters. He co-edited a book entitled HIV/AIDS in South Africa 25 Years on: Psychosocial Perspectives which was published by Springer of New York in 2009. He has also presented more than 300 papers and posters at both local and international conferences.