A/Prof Vincent Cornelisse is the Medical Director of Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Services across the Mid North Coast and Northern NSW Local Health Districts, with clinics across a 500km stretch of coastline including in Tweed Valley, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Kempsey and Port Macquarie.
In 2026, his team received a $498,000 grant from the NSW Health Translational Research Grant Scheme (TRGS) to develop and implement a co-designed culturally-responsive outreach service for people who are in Australia on temporary visas through the Pacific-Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme. These people originate from countries with high rates of HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, and often face multiple barriers to accessing healthcare. Hence this project aims to deliver comprehensive HIV, STI and viral hepatitis screening and treatment for this high risk population, in a manner that is acceptable and effective.
In 2025, his team received a $796,000 grant from the Cancer Institute NSW to develop and implement an anal cancer screening program for people living with HIV, in line with the new Australian anal cancer screening guidelines. Titled The PEACH Study (Preventing and Eliminating Anal Cancer for people living with HIV), the project is the first anal cancer screening program in a rural and regional setting in Australia.
Prior to his current role, he was a Staff Specialist in Sexual Health Medicine and Addiction Medicine at Kirketon Road Centre in Kings Cross, a NSW Health facility serving people who face barriers to accessing mainstream healthcare, including those experiencing homelessness, people who inject drugs, sex workers, young people and LGBTIQ people.
Vincent completed his specialist training in addiction medicine training in Sydney.
Vincent completed his specialist training in sexual health medicine in Melbourne alongside a PhD in sexual health epidemiology at Monash University. His doctoral research focused on HIV and STI prevention, with a particular focus on saliva as a transmission mechanism for gonorrhoea. The thesis received the Award for Best Thesis in Sexual Health Medicine from the RACP and the Public Health Researcher Award from the Premier of Victoria.
Earlier in his career, Vincent worked as a rural GP and Medical Superintendent of a small hospital in outback Queensland, a formative experience that has underpinned his commitment to equitable healthcare access in rural and regional communities.
Prior to enrolling in medical school, Vincent completed a degree in neuroscience with honours in psychopharmacology, and he continues to have a keen interest in research relating to the neuroscience of consciousness.
Current Sector Contributions
- President-Elect, Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine, Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
- Principal author, Australian Consensus Statement on Doxy-PEP for STI prevention
- Co-author, Australian STI Management Guidelines
- Co-author, Australian HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Guidelines