https://www.raynerkjtan.com/about daily 1.0 2026-04-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/9237e6b9-3380-44ca-bc93-c54388affa8c/EEEDAAF1-3085-421B-88B7-E7E5B3FE9C50.jpeg About - About Rayner Kay Jin Tan Rayner Kay Jin Tan is an Assistant Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, and holds a joint Assistant Professorship with the Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. He is also a research associate with the Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, at the same university. Rayner co-leads The Courage Lab, a community of scholars whose work centres lived experience and community engagement to promote health equity and the health of vulnerable communities in Singapore. He is an implementation researcher and applied social scientist with a keen interest in sexualized substance use, intersections of mental health and HIV, LGBTQ+ health, demedicalization and person-centred approaches to HIV prevention and treatment. Rayner also serves the scientific community through several editorial roles. He is a Deputy Editor at both the Journal of the International AIDS Society and Global LGBTQ+ Health, as well as an Associate Editor at Implementation Science Communications, the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. Rayner has extensive experience leading international academic conferences and professional networks, especially in the fields of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, behavioural health and implementation science. He is a member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Sexually Transmitted Infections and Communications Director of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections. He is Co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific AIDS and Co-Infections Conference and the Local Chair of the International Congress of Behavioral Medicine 2027. Rayner leads and contributes to several non-profits and professional organizations. He is a board member of Project X serving the needs of sex workers, co-lead at SG Mental Health Matters to spur public engagement in mental health policy making, and Vice President of the Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore. He was previously Chairperson and a director of The Greenhouse Community Services Limited, which offers substance use recovery services for marginalized communities in Singapore. He has served as an advisor for public and non-profit entities, including The Majurity Trust, Real Impact Advisors, Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, the Ministry of Health, Singapore, and the Wellcome Trust. As a neurodivergent individual who has grown up with AuDHD and Tourette’s Syndrome, he also deeply enjoys music and dedicates his free time to musical experiences in varying forms (including a little dabbling in DJ-ing and music production). Link to SoundCloud in the navigation bar. https://www.raynerkjtan.com/publication-list daily 0.75 2021-10-11 https://www.raynerkjtan.com/talks-and-presentations daily 0.75 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/38a34f4b-6441-48f9-a8a1-0a65b4548a91/1710941420169.jpg Talks and Presentations - Talks and Presentations I have served as a panelist, speaker, and moderator on the following topics: Vulnerable Populations Sexual Health HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections Mental Health Substance Use LGBTQ+ Health Social Determinants of Health Qualitative Research https://www.raynerkjtan.com/community-based-research daily 0.75 2021-06-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1624088526195-5O7ZBBEVXH04LMB4O6J1/rs%3Dw_1389%2Ch_1000%2Ccg_true.jpg Community-Based Research Image by SG Mental Health Matters https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1624088816769-DZPBSSCUFHOCGKUVF2PY/bg.jpg Community-Based Research Image by Singapore LGBT Law https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1624089788432-MQ8TTMK1YNGOSR0ASRMS/67110168_468026843993263_1634969358096662528_n.jpg Community-Based Research Image by The Greenhouse Community Services Ltd https://www.raynerkjtan.com/vulnerable-populations daily 0.75 2022-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1623670176685-VSJX4ZC03575NKB5NNEF/jiroe-b9kh72kOcdM-unsplash.jpg Vulnerable Populations - Addressing Health Inequities Vulnerable & Key Populations My earlier work focused mainly on the risks of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) as well as female sex workers and their clients in Singapore. More recent projects focus on the mental health of vulnerable populations, including the sociocultural and upstream factors impacting substance use among treatment-experienced individuals. I have also begun work employing community-based participatory research methods among key populations, and will focus on the sexual and mental health of youth and adolescents in the coming years. Ongoing/Upcoming Projects: LGBTQ+ healthcare in Singapore: Perspectives of non-governmental organizations and clinical year medical students (Principal Investigator) Factors associated with late presentation for HIV among heterosexual men and GBMSM in Singapore (Co-Investigator) The Pink Carpet Y Cohort Study for young GBMSM (Principal Investigator) Sexual health of youth in Singapore, and exploring the social determinants of sexual health among youth who identify as minority race individuals (Principal Investigator) Community-based participatory research among female sex workers in Singapore and shifts in the organizations of sex markets (Co-Investigator) Impact of COVID-19 on the sex work industry in Singapore (Principal Investigator) Evaluation of a comprehensive sexuality education workshop on youth sexual health knowledge, sexual communication and sexual negotiation self-efficacy (Principal Investigator) Alcohol, substance use and negative affective states among GBMSM (Co-Investigator with the ICARUS study/team) Chasing utopias book project: Sexualized substance use among GBMSM in Singapore (Principal Investigator) Photo by Jiroe on Unsplash https://www.raynerkjtan.com/sexual-health-hiv-sti daily 0.75 2022-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1624083839808-C1S2EJ0SXIZH4P0KWO2N/sergey-mikheev-086tfQTWNDw-unsplash.jpg Sexual Health, HIV and other STI - Promoting Sexual Health Sexual Health, HIV and other STI My work in public health began in attempting to understanding HIV-related stigma and discrimination better, and how it manifests as a barrier to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections testing in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). In the past few years, I have conducted epidemiological studies on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, evaluation of online HIV and other STI health interventions for youth and GBMSM, and stigma associated with HIV and other STI. I am also interested the well-being of people living with HIV, as well as individuals at risk of HIV and other STI. Specifically, my research has focused on how such individuals negotiate health information, and how their lived experiences are facilitated or constrained by the imposition of biomedical structures and paradigms. Ongoing/Upcoming Projects: The Pink Carpet Y PrEP and Telehealth Demonstration Study: A demonstration study to assess feasibility and acceptability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery, PrEP telehealth, and effectiveness of a sexually transmitted infections counselling service for young men who have sex with men in Singapore (Co-Investigator) International sexual health and reproductive (ISHARE) Health during COVID-19 (Singapore country lead) Factors associated with late presentation for HIV among heterosexual men and GBMSM in Singapore (Co-Investigator) The Pink Carpet Y Cohort Study for young GBMSM (Principal Investigator) Sexual health of youth in Singapore, and exploring the social determinants of sexual health among youth who identify as minority race individuals (Principal Investigator) Evaluation of a comprehensive sexuality education workshop on youth sexual health knowledge, sexual communication and sexual negotiation self-efficacy (Principal Investigator) Effectiveness of an online video intervention to address internalized homophobia and improve sexual health outcomes among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: a pragmatic, randomized controlled trial (Principal Investigator) Photo by Sergey Mikheev on Unsplash https://www.raynerkjtan.com/substance-use daily 0.75 2021-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1624086730857-SDEGLY63RTJVUOKGS8GL/wengang-zhai-BFB7ydn1-DI-unsplash.jpg Substance Use - Bridging Barriers to Care Substance Use My own interest in substance use stems from my own lived experiences of undergoing treatment and rehabilitation for substance dependence. I am a person living in recovery from substance use. It is important for me to declare this in most of my work to ensure that readers understand the nature in which most of my studies are conceived or conceptualized. Nevertheless, I am engaged with scholars in the field and am continuously growing and learning more about the diversity of substance use experiences, and the best patient-centered care practices that can be implemented to optimize health outcomes. My work has largely focused on sexualized substance use among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), otherwise known as ‘chemsex’ or ‘chill fun’ in some settings. I attempt to make sense of the epidemiology of such drug practices, and the social determinants of risks that may be associated with it. I opt for qualitative approaches as well to better understand the lived experiences of people who use drugs, and for a deeper understanding of the contexts in which such use takes place. I have also begun conducting work on substance use (including alcohol and other legal substances) in the general population through online surveys. Ongoing/Upcoming Projects: International sexual health and reproductive (ISHARE) Health during COVID-19 (Singapore country lead) The Pink Carpet Y Cohort Study for young GBMSM (Principal Investigator) Sexual health of youth in Singapore, and exploring the social determinants of sexual health among youth who identify as minority race individuals (Principal Investigator) Alcohol, substance use and negative affective states among GBMSM (Co-Investigator with the ICARUS study/team) Chasing utopias book project: Sexualized substance use among GBMSM in Singapore (Principal Investigator) Photo by Wengang Zhai on Unsplash https://www.raynerkjtan.com/sdoh-and-quali daily 0.75 2021-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1624087732328-K24IWQJ5RQE03VFXKQ5P/diogo-nunes-_gnlBfxCL4A-unsplash.jpg Social Determinants of Health and Qualitative Methods - Social Determinants of Health and Illness Social Determinants and Qualitative Methods Being a recipient of The Courage Fund Infectious Disease (PhD) scholarship has spurred my interest in understanding the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases, beyond HIV and other STI, from a socio-behavioral perspective. Thanks to my colleagues and the institutions that I have been affiliated with, I have had the opportunity to work on other infectious diseases and respiratory infections such as COVID-19 and Tuberculosis. I draw on my research on stigma, and a social determinants of health lens to better understand the spread of infectious diseases. I am also passionate about qualitative research, and the application of sociological approaches to generating insight about phenomena in health. To this end, I have taught and engaged in ethnographic and observational approaches in public health, and provided expertise on projects that have involved mixed-methods approaches and qualitative in-depth interviews or focus group discussions. Ongoing/Upcoming Projects: The use of WhatsApp Focus Groups for COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes and perceptions among Singaporeans (Co-Investigator) Community-based participatory research Sex worker risks and vulnerabilities in Singapore: A natural experiment to establish frameworks for HIV/STIs prevention in a post-COVID-19 era Photo by Diogo Nunes on Unsplash https://www.raynerkjtan.com/media daily 0.75 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1624092915387-O94VYMGGORWK539CVUKZ/wherda-arsianto-l7dP0O8Dj60-unsplash.jpg Media - Media Contributions I have contributed commentaries, expert opinion, and citations to print and online media platforms on the following topics: Social determinants of health Infectious diseases policies HIV and other sexually transmitted infections Legal expert opinion on scientific advances in HIV Health equity in minority and vulnerable populations Photo by Wherda Arsianto on Unsplash https://www.raynerkjtan.com/publications daily 0.75 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c6d8e807d4a9705b6e74dc/1623670176685-VSJX4ZC03575NKB5NNEF/jiroe-b9kh72kOcdM-unsplash.jpg Publications Publications The publications below reflect my research interests, which address the following research areas: Social determinants of health Sociology of health and illness Social epidemiology Community engagement and participatory research processes Sexual and reproductive health HIV and Sexually transmitted infections Health of minority and vulnerable populations Substance use Mental health Suicide prevention Stigma and discrimination Qualitative methods Mixed methods Implementation Science https://www.raynerkjtan.com/lectures daily 0.75 2026-03-15 https://www.raynerkjtan.com/lectures/from-codes-to-themes monthly 0.5 2026-03-15