Claudia Stoicescu

Associate Professor, Public Health


E: claudia.stoicescu@monash.edu

Associate Professor Claudia Stoicescu,

Dr. Claudia Stoicescu is a public health researcher who is passionate about understanding and reducing health inequities faced by marginalized and stigmatized populations. She joined the Monash University Indonesia founding academic team in early 2022, bringing over twelve years of experience in global health research and practice on evidence-based responses to HIV and gender-based violence among people who use drugs. Dr. Stoicescu’s research has been published in leading global health journals, including The Lancet, AIDS and Behavior, International Journal of Drug Policy, and Advances in Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Stoicescu received a DPhil (PhD) in Social Intervention (2018) and an MSc in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation (2010) from the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), where she was a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar. She conducted her postdoctoral training at Columbia University’s School of Social Work (United States) as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellow. Her current CIHR-funded research examines the gendered impacts of police enforcement activities on HIV risk, prevention and treatment outcomes among marginalized populations, including women who inject drugs and other persons involved with the Indonesian criminal justice system.

Dr. Stoicescu is enthusiastic about using her public health expertise for social change. Prior to focusing on academic research, Dr. Stoicescu worked extensively in the field of HIV and AIDS, substance use and drug policy as a frontline harm reduction service provider, policy analyst, and advocate in a wide range of international settings. She regularly consults for and provides technical assistance to United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, community networks, and governments on key issues affecting marginalized communities through data- driven, strategics and timely programming and policy advice.

More information

El-Bassel N, Mukherjee T, Stoicescu C, Starbird LE, Stockman JK, Frye V, Gilbert L (2022) Intertwined epidemics: Progress, gaps, and opportunities to address IPV and HIV among key populations of women. Lancet HIV. 9(3): E202-E213. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(21)00325-8.

Stoicescu C, Lataire Q, Peters K, Amon JJ, Kamarulzaman A, Ali R, Aramrattana A, Escartin IC, Feria MI, Kaur S, Sarasvita R, Nugraha S, and members of the International AIDS Society-Lancet Commission on Health and Human Rights (2022) End compulsory drug treatment in the Asia-Pacific region. 399(10323):419-421. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00003-4.

Iryawan AR, Stoicescu C, Sjahryal F, Kuntanto N, Dominich A (2022) The impact of peer support on testing, linkage to and engagement in HIV care for people who inject drugs in Indonesia: qualitative perspectives from a community-led study. 19 (16). https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-022-00595-8.

Stoicescu C, Richer A, Medley B, Gilbert L, Jiang D, Wu C (2021) A global systematic review of interventions co-targeting HIV and psychosocial syndemics of gender-based violence, substance misuse, and psychological distress and promoting health-seeking behaviours among women who use drugs: evidence for policy and practice. Prospero International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=248428.

Chang J, Shelly S, Busz M, Stoicescu C, Rachman A, Madybaeva D, de Boer Y, Guise A (2021) Peer driven or driven peers? A rapid review of peer involvement of people who use drugs in HIV and harm reduction services in low- and middle-income countries. Harm Reduction Journal. 18(15) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-021-00461-z.

Kramer E and Stoicescu C. (2021) An uphill battle: A case example of government policy and activist dissent on the death penalty for drug-related offences in Indonesia. International Journal of Drug Policy. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103265.

Stoicescu C, Ameilia R, Irwanto, Praptoraharjo I, Mahanani M (2019) Syndemic and synergistic effects of intimate partner violence, crystal methamphetamine, and depression on HIV sexual risk behavior among women who inject drugs in Indonesia. Journal of Urban Health. (96)3: 477-496. DOI: 10.1007/s11524-019-00352-6.

Stoicescu C, Cluver L, Spreckelsen T, Casale M, Sudweo AG, Irwanto (2018) Intimate partner violence and HIV-related sexual risk behavior among women who inject drugs in Indonesia: findings from a respondent-driven sampling study. AIDS and Behavior 22(10): 3307-3323 DOI: 10.1007/s10461-018-2186-2.

Stoicescu C, Cluver L, Spreckelsen T, Mahanani M, Ameilia R (2018) Intimate partner violence and receptive syringe sharing among women who inject drugs: results from a respondent-driven sampling study. International Journal of Drug Policy. 63:1-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.08.009.

Pinkham S, Stoicescu C, Myers B (2012) Developing effective health interventions for women who inject drugs: Key areas and recommendations for program development. Advances in Preventive Medicine. DOI: 10.1155/2012/269123.

Research Interests

  • Global health
  • Social Epidemiology
  • Substance Use
  • Community Based Participatory Research Methods
  • Gender-based violence
  • Respondent driven sampling
  • HIV and AIDS
  • Syndemics

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  1. Guest Editor for a Special Section of the Health and Human Rights Journal,
  2. Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship (2020)
  3. University of Oxford’s Vice Chancellor’s Research Innovation Award (2018)
  4. University of Oxford Barnett Prize for Best Academic Research Paper, Department of Social Policy & Intervention (2017)
  5. Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar (2014)
  6. Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Research Award (2014)