Dr Michael Brady is to step down from his role as our Medical Director this autumn after 15 years in the role. Prior to this, Dr Brady was a trustee of the charity for three years from 2004.
The decision will allow Dr Brady more time to focus on his other roles including as sexual health and HIV consultant at King’s College Hospital and as NHS England’s national advisor for LGBT health, where he leads work to tackle health inequalities facing the LGBT community.
Dr Brady has made a huge impact during his time as Medical Director, including providing clinical oversight for our HIV and sexual health services in Scotland, England and Wales. This is as well as providing medical advice to support decision-making at board and senior management level.
He has been a leading voice in many of the charity’s high-profile campaigns, including the long, hard-fought work to ensure PrEP availability in the UK. Dr Brady was even in court on the pivotal day that the legal case for providing PrEP was made, paving the way for the roll out of this essential tool for HIV prevention in England.
His high-profile media appearances included guesting on BBC’s Newsnight, advocating for PrEP as a game-changer for tackling HIV rates and shutting down ill-informed and often homophobic arguments against it.
Since 2017, Dr Brady has led our work to champion the message that people living with HIV and on effective treatment can’t pass it on. He was a trailblazer in taking the findings of the landmark PARTNER study to as wide an audience as possible – when very few others were speaking up. He provided the medical underpinning to support our high profile and ongoing Can’t Pass It On campaign, with graphics baring his face widely shared by Grindr users as ‘proof’ that undetectable equals untransmittable
Dr Brady is a key, trusted voice on HIV and sexual health, with comment pieces and interviews appearing across national media outlets to tackle HIV-related stigma and promote good sexual health, including in The Guardian, BBC Breakfast, Today Programme and many more.
Most recently, Dr Brady masterminded our new online training for healthcare professionals on the importance on being definitive when talking to people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load about the zero risk of transmission and to always say HIV can’t be passed on. This was driven by his work as an HIV consultant and seeing the difference this message made to people living with HIV in terms of relationships, mental health and wellbeing.
He also supported the production of our updated sexual health information for trans and non-binary people, which was led by people from those communities including Dr Kate Nambiar. Dr Brady will continue his work to support and empower trans and non-binary communities through his NHS role.
Our Chief Executive Ian Green said: ‘It’s with a great deal of sadness that we announce Michael is leaving Terrence Higgins Trust. But we’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have his support, knowledge and guidance for so long among his other important responsibilities. We will miss his calm demeanour, decisive nature and his humour.
‘Michael is one of the most respected voices in HIV and sexual health, as well as when it comes to broader LGBT health. He was instrumental in our campaigning for PrEP access in the UK – shutting down homophobic and ill-informed arguments with ease – and was a trailblazer in utilising his clout as a clinician to drive up awareness of the U=U message before many others.’
Medical Director Dr Michael Brady said: ‘It has been a real honour to work for Terrence Higgins Trust. I have learned so much from all the incredible people I’ve worked with over the years, and it’s been a privilege to contribute to the positive impact the organisation has on those living with HIV or at risk of HIV or poor sexual health. Although it’s sad to be leaving, I have nothing but happy memories and wish all my colleagues at Terrence Higgins Trust the very best for future.’
Recruitment for our new Medical Director will take place over the summer.
