About Rayner Kay Jin Tan
Dr Rayner Kay Jin TAN is Assistant Professor and leads The Courage Lab at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. He is also an Affiliate at the Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and a Research Associate at the Centre for Family and Population Research at NUS. He is an implementation and social scientist whose work spans areas of stigma and health, community engagement, and health equity.
Rayner received training as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Health Implementation Research Institute Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently faculty and a scientific mentor with the CHIMERA D43 Training Program, a National Institutes of Health-funded fellowship to build capacity in implementation science, HIV, and mental health research in Asia. He is also a recipient of the ASEAN Youth Fellowship 2024 and a Gilead HIV Scholarship.
Rayner actively contributes to the wider scientific committee through his involvement in scientific journals and conference committees. He is deputy editor at the Journal of the International AIDS Society, and Associate Editor at the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Asia Pacific Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. He is the co-chair of the Asia Pacific AIDS and Co-Infections Conference 2026, local chair of the International Congress of Behavioral Medicine 2027, and Communications Director of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections.
He leads research at The Greenhouse, a substance use recovery charity, and is board member of Project X, a nonprofit serving sex workers in Singapore. He is the Treasurer for the Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore, a co-lead at SG Mental Health Matters, and member of the Ministry of Health’s Agency for Care Effectiveness Consumer Panel.
Academic Appointments
Present Appointments
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) | Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS, Singapore (2023 - Present)
Scientific Mentor/Faculty | Capacity development for HIV and mental health research in Asia (CHIMERA) D43, Foundation for AIDS Research, NY, United States (2025 - Present)
Affiliate | Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions, School of Medicine, NUS (2024 - Present)
Research Associate | Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS (2024 - Present)
Past Appointments
Visiting Research Fellow | Infectious Diseases Research and Training Office, National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore (2021 - Present)
Postdoctoral Fellow | Project China, Institute of Global Health and Infectious Disease, Guangzhou, China (2021 - Present)
Visiting Research Fellow | Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore (2021 - Present)
Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, United States (2023 - 2023)
Visiting Scholar | Columbia Population Research Centre, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, United States (2021 - 2021)
Postdoctoral Fellow | Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore (2021 - 2021)
PhD Candidate | Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore (2017-2021)
Directorships and Executive Committee Contributions
Present Appointments
Vice-President | Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore (2026-Present)
Communications Director | International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (2025-Present)
Board Member | Project X Society (2025-Present)
Head of Research | The Greenhouse Community Services Ltd (2025-Present)
Co-Lead | SG Mental Health Matters (2020-Present)
Past Appointments
Treasurer | Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore (2024-2026)
President | Project X Society (2021-2025)
Advisor | Rainbow+ (2023-2024)
Advisor | HeHealth.ai (2021-2024)
Chairman & Director | The Greenhouse Community Services Ltd (2020-2025)
Vice President | Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore (2022-2024)
Treasurer | Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore (2019-2022)
Pro-Tem Treasurer | Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore (2018-2019)
University Service
Present Appointments
Member | National University of Singapore Institutional Review Board (2024-Present)
Member | Department Ethics Review Committee, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS (2024-Present)
Member | Department Ethics Review Committee, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS (2020-2021)
Past Appointments
Member | Department Ethics Review Committee, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS (2020-2021)
Editorial Roles
Present Appointments
Deputy Editor | Global LGBTQ+ Health (2026-Present)
Editorial Review Board | International Journal of Qualitative Methods (2025-Present)
Associate Editor | Asia Pacific Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (2025-Present)
Associate Editor | International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (2024-Present)
Deputy Editor | Journal of the International AIDS Society (2023-Present)
Past Appointments
Academic Editor | PLOS Global Public Health (2023-2024)
Perspectives Panel | Sexually Transmitted Infections (2019-2024)
Associate Editor | Social Determinants of Health, BMC Public Health (2020-2023)
Advisory Boards, Expert Panels, and Expert Opinion
Present Appointments
Member | Real Impact Advisors Advisory Council (2025-Present)
Member | Stigma and Rare Diseases Task Force, International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (2025-Present)
Member | Department Ethics Review Committee, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS (2024-Present)
Member | Octava Foundation White Paper on Mental Health and Wellbeing for Children Advisory Panel (2025-Present)
Past Appointments
Member | Agency for Care Effectiveness Consumer Panel (2024-2026)
Member | AVPN Asian Youth Mental Wellbeing Fund Young Impact Leader Advisory Committee (2023-2024)
Member | Global Black Gay Men Connect Sustainability Caucus (2024-2024)
Expert Consultant | Wellcome Trust Mental Health Translation Team (2024-2024
Member | TREAT Asia (American Foundation for AIDS Research) Community Advisory Board
Steering Committee Member | Go Youth! Global Open Call on Youth Voices, SESH Global (2022-2022)
Expert Witness | Opinion on stigma and discrimination towards men who have sex with men in Singapore
Expert Witness | Opinion on the effect of viral suppression on the risks of HIV transmission through sexual contact
Lead | Persons Who Use Drugs, Blueprint to End HIV (AFA) (2019-2020)
Academic and Research Grant Reviews
Grant Reviewer | National Medical Research Council, Singapore (2025-2025)
Grant Panellist | Ministry of Health Office for Healthcare Transformation Movements for Health (M4H) (2021-2025)
Grant Reviewer | Wellcome Trust (2024-2024)
Grant Reviewer | United Kingdom Medical Research Council (2024-2024)
Reviewer | China Medical Board Fellowship Training Program, University of North Carolina Project-China (2024-2024)
Contributions to Scientific Conferences and Events
Present Appointments
Local Organising Committee Lead | International Congress of Behavioral Medicine 2027 (2025-Present)
Program Chair | Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference (APACC) 2026 (2025-Present)
Community Outreach Chair | IUSTI World Congress 2026 Organising Committee (2025-Present)
Member | Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference (APACC) Scientific Committee (2022-Present)
Member | Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference (APACC) 2022 Organizing Committee (2022-Present)
Past Appointments
Scientific Program Committee Member | International Congress of Behavioral Medicine 2025 (2024-2025)
Member| Asian Society for Implementation Science Planning Committee (2024-Present)
Co-Chair | Singapore AIDS Conference 2024 (2024-Present)
Member | AIDS 2024 Key Population Pre-Conference Planning Committee (2024-2024)
Early Career Researcher Committee Co-Chair | IUSTI World Congress 2024 Organising Committee (2023-2024)
Member | Singapore AIDS Conference 2022 Organizing Committee (2022-2022)
Abstract Reviewer | Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference (APACC) 2022 (2022-2022)
Abstract Reviewer | 12th International AIDS Conference (2022-2022)
Member | Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference (APACC) 2021 Organizing Committee (2021-2021)
Rapporteur | Rapporteur (Track D: Social, behavioral and implementation science), 11th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (2021-2021)
Mentor | Imagine the World Anew: A Call for Youth Voices on COVID-19 in Malaysia, Impact Hub (2021-2021)
Mentor | Asia-Pacific Public Health Challenge 2021, International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (2021-2021)
Member | Singapore AIDS Conference 2020 Organizing Committee (2020-2020)
Abstract Mentor | 11th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (2020-2020)
Abstract Mentor | 23rd International AIDS Conference (2019-2019)
Abstract Mentor | 10th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (2018-2018)
Honors, Scholarships & Fellowships
S R Nathan Fellowship Young Leader 2026 | Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore
ASEAN Youth Fellowship 2024 | National Youth Council and Singapore International Foundation
Gilead HIV Research Scholarship 2023 | Gilead Sciences
Fulbright Visiting Scholar Award 2022-2023 | United States Department of State
Digital International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research Champion | International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research
HIV Infectious Disease and Global Health Implementation Research Institute (HIGH IRI) Fellow | Washing University in St. Louis (2022)
Social Innovation in Health Initiative Youth Champion 2022 | Social Innovation in Health Initiative (2022)
Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar Award 2022-2023 | United States Department of State (2022)
Prestige 40 Under 40 Laureate 2021 | Prestige Singapore (2021)
Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference (APACC) Fellowship | Virology Education (2020)
Singapore Population Health Improvement Centre (SPHERiC) Fellowship | National University Health System (2019)
The Courage Fund Ph.D. (Infectious Disease) Scholarship | The Courage Fund Limited (2017)
Ho See Beng Scholarship (Social Sciences) | Singapore Management University (2016)
Other Academic Awards
SSHSPH Young Researcher Award | National University of Singapore (2026)
SSHSPH Graduate Student Teaching Award | National University of Singapore (2021)
NUS Society (NUSS) Medal for Outstanding Achievement, Class of 2021 | National University of Singapore (2021)
SSHSPH Infectious Disease Programme Symposium Best Presenter | National University of Singapore (2020)
SSHSPH Graduate Student Teaching Award | National University of Singapore (2020)
SSHSPH Graduate Research Student Award (Epidemiology) | National University of Singapore (2019)
DBS Bank School Valedictorian Award in Social Sciences | Singapore Management University (2016)
Singapore Management University CIRCLE Award | Singapore Management University (2016)
Ho See Beng Excellence Award (Top sociology graduate) | Singapore Management University (2016)
Helen Chua Chin Xiang Best Senior Thesis in Sociology | Singapore Management University (2016)
Professor Tan Teck Meng Endeavour Award | Singapore Management University (2015)
Luxasia Vitality Innovativeness & Enterprising Spirit (VIE) Award | Singapore Management University (2015)
Dean’s List, School of Social Sciences | Singapore Management University (2015)
Standard Chartered Best First Year Business Student Award | Singapore Management University (2010)
Dean’s List, Lee Kong Chian School of Business | Singapore Management University (2010)
Teaching Experience
Present Appointments
Guest Lecturer | School of Medicine, NUS: MCI5009 Health Services Research Method for Clinicians (2026-Present)
Guest Lecturer | Duke-NUS: GMS5156 Global Mental Health in Asia (2026-Present)
Course Coordinator | SSHSPH, NUS: SPH5409Qualitative Methods in Public Health (2024-Present)
Course Co-Coordinator, SSHSPH, NUS: SPH5007 Implementing Public Health Programmes and Policies (2023-Present)
Guest Lecturer | SSHSPH, NUS: SPH3402 Mental Health: An Interdisciplinary Approach (2023-Present)
Guest Lecturer | SSHSPH, NUS: SPH2005 Health, Society and the Social Determinants (2021-2025)
Guest Lecturer | SSHSPH, NUS: Qualitative Methods in Public Health (Observational methods) (2020-2025)
Guest Lecturer | Duke-NUS: GMS5154 Adolescent Health in Asia (2024)
Facilitator | SSHSPH, NUS: Introduction to Qualitative Methods Workshop (2021-2021)
Guest lecturer | SSHSPH, NUS: Social Theory Training Workshop (2021-2021)
Teaching Assistant | SSHSPH, NUS: Health, Society and the Social Determinants (2018-2021)
Guest Lecturer | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS: Medical Sociology (Social epidemiology) (2020-2020)
Guest Lecturer | SSHSPH, NUS: Public Health in Singapore (HIV) (2020-2020)
Teaching Assistant | SSHSPH, NUS: Public Health Research Methods (2019-2020)
Guest Lecturer | SSHSPH, NUS: Health, Society and the Social Determinants (Ageing; Gender) (2018-2020)
Teaching Assistant | SSHSPH, NUS: Public Health in Action (2018-2018)
Co-Facilitator | Tan Tock Seng Hospital: Techniques for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (2018-2018)
Teaching Assistant | School of Social Sciences, SMU: Public Management in Developing Countries (2016-2016)
Teaching Assistant | School of Social Sciences, SMU: Gender and Family (2016-2016)