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Dr Isaac Chu

Research Fellow - Pharmacy First

United Kingdom

Isaac Yen-Hao Chu MD MSc DrPH AFHEA is a Taiwanese physician-scientist dedicated to combination HIV prevention, particularly in the implementation of HIV self-testing, HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and behavioural change interventions worldwide. He has joined LSHTM since 2016 and currently leads two qualitative sub-projects of the NIHR-funded (£2.45 million) Pharmacy First Evaluation, which examines the nationwide implementation of England’s Pharmacy First services. He recently worked as an NIHR-endorsed postdoctoral research fellow at UCL Institute for Global Health by leading two qualitative studies of  on the dynamics among social networks, marginalisation and intersecting identities among HIV self-testing users in the UK. He also co-investigated the Taiwan-UK Sex, Gender and Sexual Orientation Health Research Network (TUSHRN), a pioneering bi-national research platform that incubated 27 academic partnerships between the UK and Taiwan (funded by UK Research and Innovation and Taiwan National Science and Technology Council). Isaac co-writes the periodic update of Taiwan's national guidelines on HIV PrEP () and Taiwan's national guidance on treatment and prevention for bacterial sexually transmitted infections (forthcoming in Summer 2025). 

Awarded Doctor of Public Health at LSHTM in 2022, his highlights multi-dimensional service provision needs of community-based sexual health physicians for prescribing oral HIV PrEP in Taiwan using multi-disciplinary approaches across implementation science, health psychology and medical education. Isaac earned his Master of Science in Control of Infectious Diseases at LSHTM with distinction in 2017. His clinical experience includes one-year medical missions in the Kingdom of eSwatini (Swaziland) and years of medical practice in Taiwan. Isaac received his Medical Doctor degree from National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan.

You can find Isaac's latest publications and conference proceedings

Affiliations

Department of Health Services Research and Policy
Faculty of Public Health and Policy

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Centre for Evaluation
Vaccine Centre
Antimicrobial Resistance Centre

Teaching

London-based module at LSHTM

  • Seminar leader and Examiner for Principles of Social Research (Term 1)
  • Seminar leader and Examiner for Applied Communicable Disease Control (Term 2)
  • Lecturer and Examiner for Sexual Health (Term 2): Sexual Minority Men's Health 

 

Taiwan-based module (every December)

  • Lecturer for HIV & Public Health: HIV, health disparities and implementation research (National Cheng Kung University)
  • Lecturer for Advanced Topics in Health Behavior Theories: Behaviour Change Wheel: application, consideration and reflection (National Cheng Kung University)
  • Lecturer for Physician-Scientist Program-Career Planning (National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University)

 

Supervision and advisory committee

  • I currently supervise one MSc student at LSHTM and one MD/MBBS student overseas.
  • I have joined the Advisory Committee of two doctoral degree students at LSHTM

Research

  • Prescribing/Dispensing behaviour of healthcare providers worldwide
  • Policy implementation/intervention concerning diagnosis, treatment and prevention of HIV, STIs and mpox (including Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, Doxy-PEP)
  • Interprofessional dynamics in healthcare delivery
  • Differentiated/decentralised service delivery 
  • Using automatic intelligence in large-scale data extraction and data synthesis ()
  • Questionnaire development, optimisation and analysis
  • Mixed-methods research and methodology
  • Sex, gender and sexuality
Research Area
Implementation science
Surveillance
Antimicrobial agents
Systematic reviews
Policy analysis
International health organisations
Complex interventions
Social science (general)
Health care policy
Educational psychology, learning
Artificial Intelligence
Disease and Health Conditions
HIV/AIDS
Sexually transmitted infections
COVID-19
Gonorrhoea
Syphilis
Drug addiction
Mental health
Emerging infectious diseases
Chlamydia
Country
United Kingdom
Taiwan
Thailand
Eswatini
Rwanda
Australia
Region
East Asia & Pacific (all income levels)
Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)

Selected Publications

Strong, C; Joson, P; CHU, IY-H; Chuang, T-T; Wu, H-J; Li, C-W; Huang, P; Bourne, A; Ku, SW-W;
2025
Vaccine
Ghobrial, A; Samba, P; Burns, FM; Nicholls, EJ; WEATHERBURN, P; Lampe, FC; CHU, IY-H; Rodger, AJ; Witzel, TC;
2025
PLOS Mental Health
CHU, IY-H; Burns, FM; Wright, T; Samba, P; Witzel, TC; Nicholls, EJ; McCabe, L; Phillips, A; McCormack, S; Rodger, AJ; WEATHERBURN, P;
2024
PloS one
GLOVER, R; Burchett, H; WEATHERBURN, P; CHU, Y-H;
2024
Mapping Public Health Policy Options
CHU, IY-H; WEATHERBURN, P; Wright, T; Samba, P; Nicholls, EJ; McCabe, L; GAFOS, M; Dunn, DT; Trevelion, R; Burns, FM; Rodger, AJ; Witzel, TC;
2024
BMC public health
CHU, IY-H; Joson, PA; Wu, P; Ku, SW W; Li, C-W; Carol, S;
2024
The 25th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024)
Witzel, C; WEATHERBURN, P; Burns, FM; CHU, IY-H; Samba, P; Rodger, AJ;
2024
University College London
Understanding the role and impact of social networks on HIV (self-)testing among GBMSM and trans people in England and Wales
CHU, I; GAFOS, M; Witzel, C; WEATHERBURN, P;
2024
British HIV Association (BHIVA) Spring Conference 2024
CHU, Y-H;
2024
Gender Equality Education Quarterly
Palich, R; Rodger, AJ; Nicholls, EJ; Wright, T; Samba, P; CHU, IY-H; Burns, FM; WEATHERBURN, P; Trevelion, R; McCabe, L; Witzel, TC;
2024
HIV medicine