Staff Profiles
Evie Alis
BSoc Sc (Psych)
Evie Alis joined NDARC in March 2009 and is currently employed as Executive Assistant to the Director, Professor Richard P Mattick. Evie moved to NSW less than two years ago from Queensland where she had been the Executive Assistant to the Dean of Learning and Teaching (Health) at Griffith University. Since arriving in Sydney and prior to joining NDARC, Evie was employed as the Executive Assistant to the CEO of the Sydney Symphony.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0292
Fax No: 9385 0222
Anthony Arcuri
BA, PGDipPsych, DPsy(CounPsy), MAPS
Dr Anthony Arcuri joined NDARC in October 2007 as a Senior Research Officer for the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC). He is co-ordinating a qualitative study of mental health treatment, and treatment barriers, experienced by young cannabis and/or psychostimulant users in residential substance use treatment, as well as a web-based survey of self-managed change from cannabis use. He is also involved in the evaluation of a brief intervention for young cannabis users with mental health difficulties (the Cannabis and Mental Health Check-up), and in the production of cannabis-related bulletins and other publications from existing data sources. Anthony is a registered psychologist in NSW and a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the APS College of Counselling Psychologists. He has taught undergraduate drug and alcohol studies, personality, and postgraduate qualitative methods. Anthony has doctoral qualifications in Counselling Psychology from Macquarie University, where, utilising both quantitative and qualitative methods, he examined psychotherapists' handling of sexual attraction to clients, predictors of retention in residential substance use treatment for young people, and self-managed change from amphetamine use among young adults.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0304
Fax No: 9385 0222
Emma Barrett
BPsych (Hons), MPsych (Forensic)
Emma Barrett joined NDARC in March 2007 as a Research Officer. She is currently employed on the NHMRC funded randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for PTSD and illicit drug use disorders. Emma commenced her PhD in July 2007 examining criminal behaviour among substance users with comorbid PTSD, and the efficacy of an integrated treatment for this population. Emma is a registered forensic psychologist, and her areas of interest include the psychopathology and treatment of comorbid mental health disorders and mental health treatment in forensic settings.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0164
Fax No: 9385 0222
Emma Black
BSc (Hons) App Psych
Emma Black is a Senior Research Officer at NDARC and is currently working on a number of projects, including an evaluation of the Michael Project run by Mission Australia and an investigation of alcohol use in pregnancy in New South Wales. Since joining NDARC in 2002 she has worked on a number of projects, including the Illicit Drug Reporting System, the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System, an investigation into injecting drug users' understanding of hepatitis C and a project documenting the strategies taken by Australian prison authorities toward reducing the supply, demand and harms associated with drug use by prisoners. She also has provided assistance with interviewing on a number of projects including the Rural Injectors Project and the CD-SLAM, and in 2006 completed her Psychologists Registration under the NSW Psychologists Registration Board.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0242
Fax No: 9385 0222
Annie Bleeker
BA (Media), MPH
Annie Bleeker has worked in the drug and alcohol and HIV/AIDS field since 1990. In 1992, she began working internationally and has divided her time between Australia, the Netherlands and Indonesia where she worked as a writer, trainer and health promoter. Her specialisations include community education, young people, peer-led interventions and harm reduction. She is currently employed by NCPIC as the Community Training Manager.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0127
Fax No: 9385 0222
Delphine Bostock Matusko
BA, BFA (Hons), BSocSc (Psych) (Hons)
Delphine Bostock Matusko joined NDARC in November 2007 as a Research Officer. Delphine is currently employed on the NHMRC funded randomised control trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for concurrent post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders. She is also completing a Masters in Forensic Psychology at the University of New South Wales.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0382
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Desiree Boughtwood
BA (Hons) MA, PhD, Dip.Counselling
Desiree Boughtwood joined NDARC in October 2008 as a Senior Research Officer for the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC). She is running a mail-based treatment study for cannabis users. Desiree has worked as a problem gambling and drug and alcohol counsellor and also in youth health. Desiree's doctoral thesis examined young women's experience of hospitalisation for anorexia nervosa.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0449
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Courtney Breen
Grad Dip Sc (Psych), BSc, MPH
Courtney Breen has been a Research Officer at NDARC since August 1998. While at NDARC, she has worked on projects investigating treatments for heroin dependence, including a clinical trial investigating methadone withdrawal using buprenorphine. She worked on the National Evaluation of Pharmacotherapies for Opioid Dependence (NEPOD) project and on an evaluation of alternative funding for methadone services. She examined the impact of the restriction in temazepam gel capsules for her MPH treatise. She was the National Coordinator of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) for two years and Party Drug Initiative for the first year it was conducted nationally (2003). She is now a doctoral candidate investigating alcohol related harm in rural communities.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0282
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
David Bright
BSc (Psych) Hons, MPsych (Forensic) Hons, PhD, MAPS
David Bright is a Research Fellow with the Drug Policy Modeling Program. David completed a Masters degree in Forensic Psychology in 2002 and a PhD in 2008. His doctoral thesis, which examined the influence of gruesome evidence on juror emotion and decision making, was awarded the 2007 Maconochie Prize by the APS College of Forensic Psychologists. David has worked as a psychologist in a range of clinical and clinical-forensic settings including community mental health, police, and corrective services. From 2003 to 2008 he was Therapeutic Manager of the NSW custody-based intensive treatment program for sexual offenders (CUBIT). David is currently working on a project which examines the effectiveness of law enforcement strategies designed to combat methamphetamine production and supply.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0105
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Chiara Bucello
BPsych (Hons)
Chiara Bucello joined NDARC in April 2009 as a Research Officer. She is currently working on the Global Burden of Disease study for the Mental Disorders and Illicit Drugs Group. Chiara completed a Bachelor of Psychology (Honors) at Macquarie University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0316
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Lucy Burns
SRN, BA (Hons), MPH, PhD
Dr Lucy Burns is currently employed as a Senior Lecturer at NDARC. Her primary role is to evaluate various aspects of drug use in pregnancy. Lucy is employed on an NH&MRC capacity building in research grant that aims to synthesize currently available data and information to inform policy and practice in the area of drugs in pregnancy. The initial focus of this project is to link large scale data sets including the Inpatients Statistics Collection, the Midwives Data Collection and the Methadone Data Collection to examine maternal and neonatal outcomes for pregnant heroin dependent women. Lucy's PhD examined the epidemiology of comorbidity between alcohol use disorders, anxiety and depression in Australia and the impact of this type of comorbidity on treatment outcomes. Prior to joining NDARC, Lucy worked in a range of public health areas including drug and alcohol, nursing, criminology and public health. Some of Lucy's research interests include public health, epidemiology of drug and alcohol disorders, drugs in pregnancy, drug and alcohol treatment, and health policy.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0258
Fax No: 9385 0222
Bianca Calabria
BPsych (Hons)
Bianca Calabria joined NDARC in November 2007 and is currently employed as a Research Officer. Bianca is working on a number of projects, including, the Global Burden of Disease project and cannabis use in the Victorian Adolescent Cohort Study. She completed an honours degree of a Bachelor of Psychology at Macquarie University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0316
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Natacha Carragher
ATCL, BSc(Hons), PhD
Dr Natacha Carragher joined NDARC in November 2008 and is employed as a Research Fellow on NDARC arm of a multi-centre NHMRC project grant examining the contributions of epidemiological data to the revision of psychiatric classification systems (DSM-V and ICD-11). In 2005, she completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree at the University of Ulster (UU), Ireland, and received the British Psychological Society Undergraduate Award for the highest overall grade upon graduation at UU that year. In 2008, she completed her PhD which explored heterogeneity in depression utilising data from a large epidemiological survey. Her research interests include major depression, the epidemiology of substance use disorders, and the application of latent variable modelling techniques to epidemiological data. She has also conducted research in a forensic setting involving sex offenders with learning disabilities.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0249
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Joanne Cassar
BPsych (Hons)
Joanne Cassar joined NDARC as a Research Officer in December 2008. She is currently the ACT coordinator for both the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS). Her previous research has focused on alcohol use and anxiety. Jo completed her Honours degree at Macquarie University in 2007. Before working at NDARC Jo worked in a Methadone Maintenance clinic.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0397
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Jenny Chalmers
BEc(Hons), MEc, PhD
Dr Jenny Chalmers has a background in labour market economics and substantial experience in undertaking policy-relevant research. She worked for the Social Policy Research Centre for eight years. There she primarily undertook contract research for the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, focussing on the experiences of Australian families as they navigate the interface of the labour market and the income support system. Much of that research was based on her analysis of large cross-sectional and longitudinal data set. Most recently she worked on an ARC project exploring the quality of part-time work in Australia, particularly through interviews with part-time retail workers. Her research interests include social policy and labour market disadvantage, the divide between good and bad jobs and the economics of gender.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0189
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Clare Chenoweth
BA(Media), MMediaPrac, GradCert TESOL
Clare Chenoweth joined the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) at NDARC in June 2008. She is employed as a Communications Officer and works with NCPIC's National Communications Manager Paul Dillon. She has worked in Public/Media Relations for the Royal Botanic Gardens and Taronga Zoo, and has also taught English as a second language in Australia and Vietnam. Her role at NCPIC involves activities such as producing monthly e-Zines, editing publications including NCPIC Bulletins, Research Briefs and Factsheets, updating and developing the website, liaising with media, promoting NCPIC at conferences, and organising advertising.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0218
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Lin Chin
BCom
Lin Chin started at NDARC in September 2008. She has a financial/administration background including various positions within UNSW and other organisations ranging from legal services to the non-profit sector. Lin has most recently worked at the UNSW School of Psychiatry.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0348
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Anton Clifford
BEd, MMedSci, PhD
Anton Clifford joined NDARC in 2007. Previously, Anton worked for the Rural Clinical School in the Faculty of Medicine at UNSW where he taught Indigenous health to undergraduate medical students and GP registrars, and provided academic support to undergraduate Indigenous medical students. Anton is currently employed at NDARC as an NHMRC post-doctoral research fellow, and is conducting a dissemination trial of implementing an evidence-based brief intervention for alcohol in five Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Care Services in rural NSW.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0386
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Anjalee Cohen
BA (Hons), PhD
Dr Anjalee Cohen joined NDARC in February 2008. She is employed as a research fellow and is the coordinator for the centre’s international research activities. She completed a PhD in Anthropology at Macquarie University, Sydney, in 2006. Her PhD examined youth culture and identity in northern Thailand, focussing particularly on the social and cultural context of methamphetamine use. Prior to her appointment at NDARC, she worked at the Brain and Mind Research Institute of the University of Sydney, where she conducted qualitative research on youth mental health issues. Anjalee’s research interests include medical anthropology, drug use across cultures, youth methamphetamine use in Southeast Asia, and drug tourism.
Elizabeth Conroy
BSc (Hons) (Psych),
Elizabeth Conroy joined NDARC in March 2002 as a Senior Research Officer and has worked on a number of projects including NSW illicit drug indicators, the Australian heroin shortage, and quality of life and BBVI prevalence amongst rural injecting drug users. Currently, Elizabeth is finalising her PhD examining childhood trauma as a risk factor for psychiatric comorbidity among persons with opioid dependence. She is also involved in a large collaborative project with Mission Australia to evaluate an integrated service delivery model for homeless men.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0251
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Jan Copeland
BSc (Psych) (Hons), PhD, MAPS, SRN, SRM
Jan Copeland is a Professor and Director of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC), a consortium led by NDARC with six key partners nationally managing a large and diverse set of programs. Professor Copeland has also developed three major programs of research in brief interventions for cannabis use disorder; development of treatment outcome monitoring systems; and psychostimulants. She works with a number of community based agencies on service evaluations and executive management. Professor Copeland's doctoral research was on the development of treatment models for substance dependent women and she has conducted a number of additional studies into aspects of intervention needs among women with alcohol and other drug problems since then. She is currently supervising a number of doctoral students at NDARC.
Assistant Editor:
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Addiction
Reviewer:
A range of national and international research granting bodies and international peer-reviewed journals including Addictive Behaviors, British Journal of Psychiatry, Addiction Research & Theory, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Drug and Alcohol Review, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Women & Health, The Medical Journal of Australia, and Medical Science Monitor.
Memberships:
US College on Problems of Drug Dependence
Australian Psychological Association
Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs
Chair, Board of Management of Drug and Alcohol Multicultural Education Centre (DAMEC)
Member of the Board of Management of the Odyssey House McGrath Foundation
Member of the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs Working Group on the NMDS and a range of national and international government advisory groups on cannabis and treatment evaluation issues. |
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0231
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Crisanta Corpus
B.Bus (Hons), GradCert (MBT, UNSW)
Crisanta Corpus started work as a Senior Finance Officer at NDARC in September 2008. She has previously worked for UNSW as a Finance Officer at the Black Dog Institute (2003- 2008) and held various accounting and finance positions in the Financial Services Department. Prior to joining UNSW, Crisanta worked for 15 years at Qantas Airways.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0228
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Suzanne Czech
BA (Hons), PhD
Dr Suzanne Czech is currently employed as a Lecturer at NDARC. Suzanne joined NDARC in December 2007 as part of the Alcohol Action in Rural Communities (AARC) research team. The project is a five-year randomised controlled design funded by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AERF). Suzanne's primary role in this project is to assist in investigating, implementing, and evaluating effective strategies for reducing alcohol related harm in rural communities. A particular focus of her role is to examine strategies that reduce alcohol related crime. Suzanne completed her PhD at the School of Psychology, UNSW, which examined the relationship between the physiological effects of pubertal development on the executive functions (e.g. decision making, planning, impulse control) of the brain, and the possibility that this relationship offers an explanation for the temporary rise in antisocial attitudes and behaviour during the period of adolescence. Prior to undertaking her PhD at UNSW, Suzanne graduated from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. In Canada, her earlier research investigated methods and measures of adolescent offender risk assessment, including prevalence, duration, severity, and contextual environment factors.
Memberships:
Australian Psychological Society (APS)
American Psychological Association (APA)
American Psychology - Law Society (AP-LS)
Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (ANZAPPL)
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0317
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Shane Darke
BA (Hons, Class 1), PhD
Professor Shane Darke has worked in the field of illicit drug research at NDARC since 1988. His area of research is the harm associated with illicit drug use, with a particular focus on mortality. He has published widely in the area of illicit drug use, including work on opioid overdose, psychostimulant overdose, psychopathology, suicide, trauma, treatment outcome and toxicology. He was a senior investigator for the Australian Treatment Outcome Study, the first longitudinal study of outcome for the treatment of heroin dependence among different treatment modalities to be conducted in Australia. He is currently supervising projects on methamphetamine toxicity, methamphetamine and violence, and the toxicology of suicide victims.
Professor Darke's research interests include: Heroin overdose, psychopathology and drug dependence, suicide and drug use, and drug-related trauma.
Editor:
Addiction (Australasian Regional Editor)
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Journal of Drug Issues
Reviewer:
Addiction
AIDS
Archives of General Psychiatry
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
British Medical Journal
Canadian Medical Association Journal
CNS Drugs
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Drug and Alcohol Review
Forensic Science International
Journal of Drug Issues
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Health Promotion Journal of Australia
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine
Journal of Harm Reduction
Journal of Substance Use
Medical Journal of Australia
Psychiatric Research
Psychological Reports
The Lancet
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0234
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Mark Deady
BPsych (Hons)
Mark Deady joined NDARC in January 2008 and is currently employed as a Research Officer. Mark has previously worked on the development and evaluation of a set of national guidelines for the management of comorbid substance use and mental illness in the alcohol and other drug sector, and is currently involved in the follow-up component to the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Mark completed a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at Macquarie University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0320
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
E-mail:
Catherine Deans
BA (Psych)
Catherine Deans joined NDARC in 2007 and is currently working on a dissemination trial of implementing evidence-based medicine in Indigenous Primary Care Services in NSW with Dr Anton Clifford and Associate Professor Anthony Shakeshaft. During her time at NDARC she has also worked on the development and trial of a computer-based psychostimulant and cannabis prevention program for schools, as well as conducting an extensive review of the literature regarding the effect of secondary supply of alcohol to minors by parents. Catherine has a background in psychology and prior to working at NDARC she was employed at the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St Vincent’s Hospital.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0175
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
E-mail:
Louisa Degenhardt
BA (Hons) (Psych), MPscychol (Clinical), PhD
Louisa Degenhardt is a Professor at NDARC and is currently the recipient of an NH&MRC Senior Research Fellowship. She started at NDARC in 1998 as a Research Assistant to the then Executive Director, Professor Wayne Hall. She completed her PhD in 2001 on the comorbidity between drug use and mental health problems in the general population, and her Masters in Clinical Psychology in 2002.
Louisa led a number of national illicit drug surveillance projects from 2001-2008. These included the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS), the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS, formerly the Party Drugs Initiative (PDI)) and the National Illicit Drug Indicators Project (NIDIP). She was the chief investigator on a project examining the Australian “heroin shortage”, which began in 2001.
Louisa is an investigator on a large case control study, funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), examining potential gene-environment interactions between childhood trauma and the later development of heroin dependence. She is currently leading an NH&MRC-funded data linkage project examining mortality among more than 40,000 opioid dependent persons entering opioid replacement therapy across a twenty year period in New South Wales, Australia.
She is currently involved in several international projects examining the epidemiology of drug use and dependence, and related problems, across the globe. These include involvement with the WHO’s World Mental Health Survey Initiative, the Secretariat to the Reference Group advising the United Nations on Injecting Drug use and HIV (www.idurefgroup.unsw.edu.au), and co-chairing the Expert Group on Mental and Illicit Drug Use Disorders for the 2005 Global Burden of Disease project (www.gbd.unsw.edu.au).
Editorial Board:
International Journal of Drug Policy
Drug and Alcohol Review
BMC Psychiatry
Reviewer:
Addiction;
American Journal of Epidemiology;
American Journal of Public Health;
Archives of General Psychiatry;
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry;
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health;
BMC Psychiatry;
BMC Public Health;
CNS Drugs;
Drug and Alcohol Dependence;
Drug and Alcohol Review;
European Psychiatry;
International Journal of Drug Policy;
Journal of Studies on Alcohol;
Nicotine and Tobacco Research;
NSW Public Health Bulletin;
Psychiatric Research;
Psychological Medicine;
Psychological Reports;
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0230
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Joula Dekker
BPsych (Hons), MPsychol (Forensic)
Joula Dekker joined NDARC in November 2008. She graduated from Sydney University in 2004 with a Bachelor Degree (honours) in Psychology and finished her Masters in Forensic Psychology in 2006. She has previous clinical experience working with drug and alcohol inpatients and outpatients at a psychiatric hospital, and patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Joula has also been involved in a study investigating the relationship between memory and ageing since 2007. As a research officer at NDARC, Joula is currently working on a project investigating the relationship between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0171
Fax No: (02) 985 0222
Paul Dillon
DipTch, MPS
Paul Dillon is currently employed as the National Communications Manager for the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC). For many years he was employed as the Media Liaison/Information Manager at NDARC where his key role was to disseminate research findings to policy makers, drug and alcohol workers and the general public. He has been contracted by many agencies, including the NSW Police Service, the NSW Department of Education and the AMA, to give regular updates on current drug trends within the community. He has appeared on a wide range of television programs including Sunrise, TODAY and A Current Affair discussing topical issues. His areas of interest are drug education, cannabis, anabolic steroid users and the ecstasy/dance party culture.
Reviewer:
Addiction
Drug and Alcohol Review
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0226
Fax No: (02) 985 0222
E-mail:
Kate Dolan
BSc, PhD
Associate Professor Kate Dolan has studied blood borne viruses since 1984. With others she started Australia?s first needle and syringe exchange program in November 1986. Since then she has conducted numerous studies investigating the transmission and prevention of blood borne viral infections in England and Australia. Her main areas of research interests are drug treatment and the prevention of blood borne viral infections in prison, drug injecting and drug treatment in developing countries, needle and syringe programs, methadone treatment and injecting rooms. She has published widely and been invited to present her research at numerous international conferences. She designed and carried out a Randomised Controlled Trial on the NSW prison methadone program. She held a NHMRC Post Doctoral Research Fellowship to examine hepatitis C in prison.
She established the Program of International Research and Training (PIRT) at NDARC in 2003. PIRT aims to build capacity among the treatment and research sectors in developing countries. PIRT has undertaken 11 projects so far in countries such as Iran, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam and China. Since 2000 she has supervised PhD and Masters students. She has received over $8 million in funding for her research.
Reviewer:
Journal of Human Virology
Canadian Medical Association Journal
Medical Journal of Australia
International Journal of Drug Policy
Addiction
AIDS Care
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology
Reviewed grants for NH&MRC
Memberships:
Member of the HCV Estimations and Projections Working Group
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Chris Doran
BEc(Hons), PhD
Associate Professor Chris Doran has recently relocated to NDARC from the University of Queensland where he was the lead health economist at the Centre for Burden of Disease and Cost-Effectiveness. His main research interest is in economic evaluation of health care interventions. Dr Doran has been awarded over $20 million in research funding over the past 10 years. He is currently leading a large NHMRC funded capacity building grant in the area of health economics and is a chief investigator on several other NHMRC and AERF grants. Dr Doran has undertaking research for a range of multilateral organisations including the World Health Organization, United Nations and Secretariat of the South Pacific. He is also currently working on several philanthropic funded projects in Vietnam, Laos and Singapore.
Reviewer:
Addiction
British Medical Journal
Drug & Alcohol Review
Drug & Alcohol Dependence
Medical Journal of Australia
Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research
Tobacco Control
Pharmacoeconomics
Memberships:
Australian Health Economics Association
International Health Economics Association
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0324
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Matthew Dunn
BA (Psych), PostGradDipPsych, GCertPopH, PhD
Dr Matthew Dunn is an Associate Lecturer at NDARC, currently coordinating a project investigating attitudes toward, knowledge of, and prevalence of illicit drug use among professional and non-professional athletes. Previously, he was the NSW coordinator of the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS; formerly the Party Drugs Initiative) since September 2005 and was the National coordinator from June 2006 to July 2007. Prior to joining NDARC, he lectured in social and developmental psychology at the University of Sydney as well as in developmental psychology at ACU. He obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney, investigating the influence of drug use, exercise and sexual orientation on body image concerns in men. His research interests include licit and illicit drug use among sporting populations and the epidemiology of use and harms associated with ecstasy and related drugs.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0167
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
E-mail:
Colleen Faes
BSc (Psych)
Colleen Faes joined NDARC in August 2007. She is currently employed as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP), Associate Professor Alison Ritter. Colleen also provides research support on various DPMP projects. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Davidson College, USA in 2004.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0186
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Philippa Farrugia
BPsych(Hons)
Philippa Farrugia has been employed as a Research Officer with NDARC since October 2008. She is currently working with Dr Katherine Mills on a project that is investigating the relationship between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Withdrawal. Philippa has completed a Bachelor of Psychology honours degree at Macquarie University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0212
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Amie Frewen
BA (Psych), BPsych
Amie Frewen is a Senior Research Officer at the National Cannabis Prevention and Intervention Centre at NDARC. Her primary role is to develop clinical guidelines for the management of cannabis use disorder. Amie is soon to graduate from her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Macquarie university where she examined the role of an antidepressant on withdrawal from heavy cannabis use. Prior to NDARC, Amie worked as psychologist in Western Australia and more recently at the Langton Centre, providing clinical interventions and research with opiate pharmacotherapies.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0308
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Peter Gates
BA (Psych), Dip In Psych
Peter Gates has been in drug and alcohol research with NDARC since August 2002. He has worked on projects investigating the alcohol use of young Australians, specifically researching the impact of pre-mixed alcohol, and he assisted with the introduction of the Australian Alcohol Treatment Outcome Measure for dissemination across non-government health organisations. Recently, Peter has researched the potency and contamination content of Australian cannabis as well as the barriers and facilitators to cannabis treatment. Currently, Peter is a member of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) undertaking a PhD examining the efficacy of telephone-based brief cannabis interventions.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0269
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Amy Gibson
BA, BSc (Hons), MPH
Amy Gibson joined NDARC in May 2003 and is currently a PhD student at UNSW in the field of mortality associated with naltrexone, methadone and buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence. She is also an associate investigator on a NHMRC-funded grant investigating mortality in NSW entrants to methadone/ buprenorphine treatment between 1985 and 2006 using data linkage with the National Deaths Index. Amy completed her Masters of Public Health degree at the University of Sydney and works part-time for the Director on other small research projects.
Previously, Amy has worked as a Senior Research Officer on the NDLERF- funded project examining the causes, effects and implications of the Australian heroin shortage. Additional projects included a case control study examining potential gene-environment interactions between childhood trauma and the development of heroin dependence, the extent of naltrexone-related deaths in Australia using the National Coroners Information System, and a project considering the costs and outcomes of treatments for excessive alcohol consumption. Prior to joining NDARC, Amy worked at the Langton Centre for over 3 years, conducting various clinical trials of drug dependence treatment including one of the studies for NEPOD (the National Evaluation of Pharmacotherapies for Opioid Dependence).
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0301
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Katrina Grech
BSc, PhD
Katrina Grech is a Research Officer for the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) at NDARC. Katrina has completed a BSc in Biomedical Science and a PhD at the University of Edinburgh. She has conducted research on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases, and has worked for many years as an evolutionary biologist. Katrina recently joined DPMP to pursue her interest in statistical research, and will be assessing illicit drug use through analysis of databases including the National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0246
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Rachel Grove
BPscyh (Hons)
Rachel Grove joined NDARC in January 2008 and is currently employed as a Research Officer. Rachel is working on NDARC arm of a multi-centre National Health and Medical Research Council project grant examining the contributions of epidemiological data to the revision of psychiatric classification systems (DSM-V and ICD-11). She completed a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at Sydney University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0312
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Alys Havard
BPsych (Hons), MPH
Alys Havard joined NDARC in 2003 as a research assistant on the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS), a large scale longitudinal study of treatment outcomes for heroin dependence. Since January 2006, Alys has been working on the Alcohol Action in Rural Communities (AARC) project, which aims to reduce alcohol-related harm in rural towns. She is currently undertaking a PhD quantifying the prevalence and cost of alcohol-related emergency department presentations in rural NSW and evaluating the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of an emergency-department based intervention for at-risk drinkers.
Alys is also involved in CLIMATESchools: Cannabis and Psychostimulants which aims to develop and evaluate a school-based drug prevention program for cannabis and psychostimulants.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0254
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Karina Hickey
BBHS(Hons)
Karina Hickey joined NDARC in July 2008 as a Research Officer for the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC). She is currently working with the training team of NCPIC, following up recipients of cannabis education workshops. She completed a Bachelor of Behavioural Health Science (Honours) at Sydney University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0287
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Julie Hodge
Julie joined NDARC in August 1999. She is responsible for providing administrative assistance to the Centre. Julie has had previous roles in administration and she has also worked as a Library Technician.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0452
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
John Howard
BA, MA(Couns), MClinPsych, DipCrim, PhD, MAPS
Dr John Howard joined NDARC in 2008 as a Senior Lecturer and works with the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre, as well as NDARC's international research activities and those with a focus on young people. Previously, he had been an Honorary Visiting Fellow at NDARC since 1995. From 2001 until the end of 2007 he was Director – Clinical Services, Training and Research, Ted Noffs Foundation. From 1989 to 2001 he was a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Director, Social Health Programs, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University. He is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Hospital.
He has worked as a high school teacher, school counsellor, deputy superintendent of a residential unit and senior counsellor of a community-located unit for young offenders.
He was a member of the Technical Steering Committee of the WHO’s Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development (CAH) for 6 years, and from 1992 he consulted to CAH, UNICEF, UNODC and the Arab Council on Childhood and Development, on street youth/children in developing countries and the health of male adolescents, working at WHO/HQ in Geneva and field-work in India, Philippines, South Africa and Egypt. Since 1999 he has consulted to UNESCAP, with field-work in Lao PDR, Viet Nam, China and Thailand on capacity-building for the community treatment of young drug users.
He is a Board Member of NCETA, was a member of the Evaluation Working Group of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, and is a member of a number of National Illicit Drug Strategy working and reference groups.
His major clinical, teaching and research areas are: adolescent substance use and ‘street youth’ (in both developed and developing countries), comorbidity, depression and suicide in young people, working with marginalised youth, adolescent psychotherapy, same-sex attracted youth, HIV infection in adolescents, resilience, and treatment capacity-building.
Reviewer:
Drug and Alcohol Review
Youth Studies Australia
Addiction
International Journal of Drug Policy
Culture, Health and Sexuality
Memberships:
Registered (Clinical) Psychologist, NSW
Secretariat, UN Reference Group on HIV and IDU
NCETA - Board of Management
NSW Health, Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Office – Quality in Treatment Advisory Committee
NADA Treatment Sub Committee
NSW Ministerial Advisory Committee on Hepatitis
Family Drug Support – Board of Management
Australian Psychological Society (APS)
The Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD)
International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA)
International Association for Adolescent Health
Suicide Prevention Australia
Consulting Editors Group – Youth Studies Australia
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0303
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Caitlin Hughes
BA(Hons), BSc, PhD
Dr Caitlin Hughes joined NDARC in January 2007 and is employed as a Research Fellow for the multi-disciplinary Drug Policy Modelling Program. As a criminologist Caitlin is involved in a range of projects including identifying alternate and current policing responses to MDMA offenders, building a system dynamics model of Cannabis Diversion and critically analysing Australian illicit drug policy coordination. Caitlin recently completed a review of the impacts from the Portuguese decriminalisation of illicit drugs, a project conducted in collaboration with the UK based Beckley Foundation. Prior to joining NDARC Caitlin worked as a Needle and Syringe Strategy Officer for the City of Maribyrnong Council before undertaking post-graduate research, tutoring and lecturing for The University of Melbourne. In 2006 she completed her PhD into the policy making process underpinning two drug policy reforms: decriminalisation in Portugal and the adoption of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative in Australia. Her thesis provided in-depth case studies into the process of atypical reform and a means of exploring the theoretical basis and drivers of evidence-based drug policy reforms. This research had theoretical and practical implications for policy advocates, policy makers and researchers and served as impetus to join the Drug Policy Modelling Program.
Memberships:
Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia
Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology
Crime and Justice Research Network
Reviewer:
Drug and Alcohol Review
International Journal of Drug Policy
Policing
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0132
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Delyse Hutchinson
BA/BSc (Hons) (Psych), MClinPsych, PhD MAPS
Dr Delyse Hutchinson is a Research Fellow at NDARC. Dr Hutchinson's current research focuses on two main areas: (1) the impact of parental substance use on children and families; and (2) identification of risk and protective factors for the development of adolescent substance misuse. Dr Hutchinson is currently involved in collaborative research with national agencies conducting large-scale cohort studies to examine the relations between family functioning, parenting and substance misuse. Dr Hutchinson's recent published works have contributed to an improved understanding of the impacts of drug use in the family context, and provide guidance for parents with respect to managing alcohol and other drug related issues in the home.
Dr Hutchinson is also chief investigator on three externally funded research projects. The first two projects involve collaboration with researchers at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and the National Drug Research Institute in Perth. These projects examine patterns of maternal substance use in pregnancy including infant developmental outcomes. The third project is a collaborative partnership with the Centre for Adolescent Health in Melbourne and involves data analysis of the relationship between cannabis use and mental health.
Dr Hutchinson is broadly interested in research examining the early development and risk-factors for psychological disorders, particularly the influence of family and peers. She is also interested in research on prevention and early intervention. Her PhD examined the influence of peers and negative affect in the development of body image and eating disturbances during early adolescence. Dr Hutchinson also works as a clinical psychologist with children and families and has a strong interest in perinatal and early childhood treatment. She has also been involved in the supervision of PhD and Masters students.
Reviewer:
Addiction
Behavior Therapy
Drug and Alcohol Review
Memberships:
Australian Psychological Society
Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY)
Fellow of the NSW Institute of Psychiatry
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0148
Fax No: 9385 0222
Devon Indig
BSc (Genetics), MPH
Devon Indig started her PhD at NDARC in March 2005. She is investigating the epidemiology and detection rate of alcohol-related emergency department attendances. This research involves a triangulation of data sources to assess the impact of these attendances on patients, staff and the emergency department as a whole. The methodology includes reviewing routinely collected data sources, surveying staff about their attitudes and experience with these patients and conducting a patient survey and medical record audit. Prior to starting her PhD, Devon worked for 5 years as a senior manager in the NSW Health Centre for Drug and Alcohol where she looked after all the drug and alcohol monitoring and surveillance across NSW.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0128
Fax No: 9385 0222
Amy Johnston
BA Psychol (Hons), MSC SRMS
Amy Johnston is currently undertaking a PhD investigating suicidal thoughts and behaviours in the general population, with a focus on the relationship between these phenomenon and alcohol and drug use and disorders. Prior to commencing her PhD, Amy was employed to assist in the development and processing of the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2007, a large cross-sectional epidemiological survey examining the prevalence of mental and substance use disorders in the general population.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0340
Fax No: 9385 0222
Aspasia Karageorge
BA(Psyc), PGDipArts, MSc(Forensic Psyc)
Aspasia Karageorge joined NDARC in October 2008 as a Research Officer, and is involved in research aimed at preventing psychostimulant misuse and related harms in adolescents. Aspasia currently manages the collection of data for the psychostimulant module of the CLIMATE Schools Project, a study evaluating the use of a cartoon-based and computer-driven drug prevention program in secondary schools across NSW and the ACT. Prior to employment at NDARC, she conducted research related to the eyewitness testimony of children as well as being employed as a Probation Officer.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0190
Fax No: 9385 0222
Sharlene Kaye
BSc (Psych) (Hons), PhD
Sharlene Kaye is a Research Fellow at NDARC. Since joining in 1994, she has worked on several projects, including a major study of Antisocial Personality Disorder among injecting drug users and the Illicit Drug Reporting System. She completed her PhD at NDARC in 2003 which examined the patterns and harms of cocaine use. More recently, Sharlene has worked on studies examining fatal and non-fatal cocaine overdose, psychostimulant-related deaths across Australia, and is current working on a project examining organic brain damage following opioid overdose. In 2009, she will be commencing an investigation into the diversion and misuse of stimulant medication for ADHD among illicit psychostimulant users.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0279
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Erin Kelly
BPsych (Hons)
Erin Kelly joined NDARC as a Research Officer in March 2002, working for 12 months on a project examining drug driving among injecting drug users with Associate Professor Shane Darke. In November 2003 she returned to NDARC to work with Dr Rebecca McKetin on studies examining methamphetamine use in Australia. Currently she is working with Dr McKetin on a longitudinal study examining treatment outcome among methamphetamine users, and a treatment study examining the feasibility and effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for regular amphetamine use and depression.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0243
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Briony Larance
BSc (Psych) (Hons)
Briony Larance is employed as a Senior Research Officer at NDARC. Briony is currently working on a post-marketing surveillance study of buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone) and is undertaking her PhD in this area. She joined NDARC in September 2004 to work on a rapid assessment of performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs) in NSW.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0241
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Sarah Larney
BA, BSc (Hons)
Sarah Larney joined NDARC as a Research Officer in April 2005 and has been involved in projects in diverse areas including drug use in prison, service provision for homeless alcohol and drug dependent persons and HIV prevention in the Asia-Pacific region. She is currently undertaking a PhD using linked data to assess the long-term effects of methadone maintenance treatment in a cohort of heroin-dependent prisoners.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0160
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Jim Lemon
BSc (Psychology - Honours Class I), PhD
Dr Jim Lemon joined NDARC in December 2007 as a Research Fellow to work on projects as required and pursue his own research in risk taking and decision making. He has previously worked at a number of research organisations including NDARC. His research has included drug and alcohol, health psychology and human performance testing, resulting in papers and books on topics from animal learning to therapeutic drug testing. He is currently working on several projects including the relationship of psychoactive drug use to the initiation of sexual activity, the social transactions involved in the acquisition of alcohol by underage drinkers and the interaction of alcohol and autonomic reactivity.
Memberships:
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Reviewer:
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0272
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Michael Lodge
BA
Michael Lodge has worked in the alcohol and other drugs field since 1985. After completing his bachelor degree at the University of Wollongong, he joined the Wollongong Crisis Centre where he stayed until 1988. Since that time Michael has held positions across the sector in community development, professional development, social marketing, treatment services, policy analysis and senior management. Most recently he was the General Manager of the NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA) and is a past President of the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL). While at NUAA Michael held memberships on the NSW Ministerial Advisory Committee on Hepatitis and the Health Promotion Sub-Committee of the NSW Ministerial Advisory Committee on HIV and Sexually Transmissible Infections. Prior to his work at NUAA, Michael spent a number of years as a policy analyst in alcohol and other drugs in NSW Health and the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
Memberships:
Australian Institute of Management - member
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0198
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Stephanie Love
BSc (Biological Sciences), MPH (Epidemiology)
Stephanie Love graduated from Colorado State University in 2005 with a science degree and completed her MPH degree in Epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health in 2007. Since graduating, Stephanie has worked on a number of research projects in areas such as women’s health, nutrition, clinical research, and disability in the community, in addition to a maternal and infant mortality project in rural Uganda. Stephanie joined NDARC in January 2008 and her research has included analyses support for the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) on public policy and opinion relative to the AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Surveys. At present, Stephanie is working as a research officer with Associate Professor Anthony Shakeshaft on the Alcohol Action in Rural Communities (AARC) project funded by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0266
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Elizabeth Maloney
B Soc Sc (Criminology) (Hons), PhD
Elizabeth Maloney joined NDARC in November 2004 as a Research Officer. In 2008 Elizabeth completed a PhD examining the reported prevalence of suicidal behaviour and the associated risk factors among opioid dependent individuals and controls. Elizabeth is currently employed as a Senior Research Officer to run a pilot study examining the impact of substance use on pregnancy, infant development and family functioning. Her research interests include suicide and self-harm behaviours; comorbidity of mental health and substance use problems; young people and the juvenile justice system; and pregnancy and child development.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0117
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Kristie Mammen
BPsych (Hons)
Kristie Mammen started her PhD at NDARC in March 2006 under the supervision of A/Prof James Bell and Prof Richard Mattick. She is investigating the use of buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone) in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia. A triangulation of data sources will be used to investigate the differential policies employed by these jurisdictions and their relationship with medical practitioner prescribing behaviour and client outcomes.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Kristy Martire
BA (Hons), MPsych (Forensic), PhD (Forensic Psychology)
Dr Kristy Martire joined NDARC in March 2008 as a Research Fellow. Kristy is currently developing projects relating to the intersection between drugs and crime (particularly sexual offending) as well as the impact of psychological, legislative and economic factors on offender desistance, community reintegration and drug/alcohol rehabilitation. Kristy recently completed her PhD through the School of Psychology at UNSW. Her research focused on the impact of the eyewitness expert evidence safeguard on the accuracy of juror decision-making. Kristy is registered as a forensic psychologist, and continues to be interested in issues pertaining to social policy and justice.
Memberships:
American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS)
Society for Applied Memory and Cognition Research (SARMAC)
Association for Psychological Science (APS)
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0274
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Bradley Mathers
MSD, MBChB
Bradley Mathers joined NDARC in 2006 as a Senior Research Officer. Bradley has a background in medicine and drug and alcohol work and has an interest in international social development. He currently coordinates the Secretariat of the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and injecting drug use.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0176
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Francis Matthew-Simmons
BA, BPPM (Hons)
Francis Matthew-Simmons is a Research Officer and a PhD student at NDARC. In 2006 he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) and a Bachelor of Public Policy and Management (Hons) degree at the University of Melbourne. His honours thesis focused on the accuracy of newspaper coverage of ecstasy use in Australia. His PhD will focus more broadly on the policy making process in the illicit drug arena, particularly the role of the media and public opinion in drug policy reform. His research interests include politics, public policy, ecstasy and related drugs, 'rave' culture, and the sociological aspects of drug use.
Contact details:
Telephone: 9385 0188
Fax No: 9385 0222
Richard Mattick
BSc, MPsych (Clinical), PhD
Richard P. Mattick is the Professor of Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of New South Wales, Sydney within the Faculty of Medicine where he is the Director of NDARC. He has authored over 100 scientific articles and books on the assessment, nature and treatment of emotional, cognitive and psychological and neuropsychological problems. His major current research interests are in clinical trials for management of opioid dependence, psychostimulant substitution therapy, treatment of young drug dependent people, and the effects on cognitive functioning of exposure to psychostimulants and opioids. He was the coordinator of the federally funded National Evaluation of Pharmacotherapies for Opioid Dependence studying 1500 opioid dependent patients assessing the impact of naltrexone, methadone, buprenorphine, and LAAM. He has conducted the largest randomised clinical trial of buprenorphine versus methadone, and this study is a pivotal study for the US FDA registration of buprenorphine. He is an Editor on the Cochrane Review Group for Drugs and Alcohol, and Assistant Editor and Executive Editor (respectively) on the international journals Addiction and the Drug and Alcohol Review.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Rebecca McKetin
BSc Psychol (Hons), PhD
Dr Rebecca McKetin is a Senior Research Fellow at NDARC where she manages a program of research on methamphetamine use, related harms and interventions. She completed her PhD on methamphetamine-related morbidity at NDARC in 1999, subsequently coordinated the Illicit Drug Reporting System from 1999-2000 and worked with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime from 2000-02, before returning to NDARC in 2003.
She currently leads the NHMRC funded Methamphetamine Treatment Evaluation Study (MATES) which is a prospective longitudinal study of treatment outcomes for methamphetamine use. This is an internationally unique study that will tell us whether our existing drug treatment services work for methamphetamine use, how common mental health problems are among this group, and whether drug treatment can alleviate problems like depression and psychosis.
Her other work includes evaluating the NSW Health Stimulant Treatment Programs, NHMRC funded research on methamphetamine psychosis, and examining treatment access among rural methamphetamine users and dance-party patrons. She led the NDLERF funded study into Sydney’s methamphetamine market, estimated the number of dependent methamphetamine users in Australia, and has consulted to the United Nations on monitoring amphetamine-type stimulant use. In 2008 she was awarded a NSW/ACT Young Tall Poppy Science Award for her research into methamphetamine use.
Reviewer:
Addiction
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Drug and Alcohol Review
International Journal of Drug Policy
Medical Journal of Australia
Addictive Behaviours
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology
Memberships:
Board of Directors, Alcohol and Other Drug Council of Australia
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Jennifer McLaren
BA (Hons)
Jennifer McLaren joined NDARC in March 2003. She is currently employed as a Senior Research Officer and is working on a review for the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing on cannabis and mental health. She has also been involved in a project assessing the potency and contamination of cannabis in Australia. Jennifer was involved in the development of Australia's first National Cannabis Strategy. Her first two years at NDARC were spent working on a project examining Sydney's illicit methamphetamine market. Prior to joining NDARC, Jennifer worked at The Smith Family in the Research and Social Policy Department.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0192
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Sabine Merz
BA (Hons)
Sabine Merz joined NDARC in March 2007 as a Research Psychologist. She is currently employed as a Clinical Psychologist on the NHMRC funded randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for PTSD and illicit drug use disorders. Sabine is currently completing her PhD in Psychology at the University of NSW looking at the impact of puberty and personality traits on emotion recognition ability in children and adolescents.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0170
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Louise Mewton
BA (Psych) (Hons)
Louise Mewton started her PhD at NDARC in February 2008. She will be using the data from the second Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being to investigate the prevalence and nature of adolescent substance use disorders. She is also working as a research officer at NDARC investigating the current diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders, especially as they apply to young adults.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0217
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Katherine Mills
BHlthSc (Hons), PhD
Dr Katherine Mills is currently employed as a Senior Lecturer at NDARC. Katherine joined the Centre as a Research Officer in January 2001, working on the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS), a large-scale longitudinal study of treatment outcomes for heroin dependence. In 2006 Katherine graduated from her PhD which she completed at the Centre, which examined post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among people with heroin dependence. Currently, Katherine is coordinating a NHMRC funded randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for PTSD and illicit drug use disorders. Her other research interests include the epidemiology of substance use disorders, comorbidity, treatment outcomes, and substance use disorders among youth populations.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0253
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Hector Navarro
MD, MPH
Hector Navarro is currently undertaking a PhD analysing the costs and benefits of a community action intervention strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm in rural communities of New South Wales. He has previously worked as a medical doctor specialising in internal medicine, and has conducted public health research in the field of epidemiology (evaluating genetic and environmental factors in type 2 diabetes) at the University of Kuopio and the National Institute of Public Health in Finland.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Paul Nelson
MHSc(BehSc)Hons, BA (Psychology/Sociology)
Paul Nelson's thesis investigates relationships between drug use, mental health and recidivism amongst community-based young offenders. He is a registered psychologist with health and forensic research and assessment experience in corporate, government, academic, and consulting settings. Prior to joining NDARC in March 2008, Paul managed a statewide health survey of young offenders for The University of Sydney. His other research interests include adolescent health and justice in developing countries and he is currently working for the Global Burden of Disease project's Mental Disorders and Illicit Drugs Group.
Memberships:
Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0133
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Nicola Newton
BSc (Psych) (Hons)
Nicola Newton is currently undertaking her PhD at NDARC. She commenced her PhD in April 2006 and is investigating the feasibility of introducing computer based drug and alcohol prevention programs into secondary schools. This project is part of a larger project, known as CLIMATESchools which is aimed at the prevention of anxiety, depression and substance use. Prior to embarking on her PhD, Nicola worked as a Research Officer at the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St Vincent's Hospital. Her research interests include adolescent mental health issues, and the prevention of drug and alcohol problems.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0159
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Rachel Ngui
BBus (Econ), BBus (Hons), MHEcon
Rachel Ngui joined the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) at NDARC to work on developing a model to assess the health and economic consequences of cannabis policy options. Prior to this, she was an evaluator of Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) submissions with the Queensland Evaluation Group at the University of Queensland (UQ). After working as a research assistant in health economics at Griffith University, Rachel was involved in the development of courses in the Master of Health Economics program, research in illicit drugs and a project within the Assessing Cost Effectiveness (ACE)-Prevention Study at the Centre for Burden of Disease and Cost Effectiveness at UQ. She has also worked in the area of health funding policies at Queensland Health and has experience in various roles within other government departments and the private sector both in Australia and overseas.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0159
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Melissa Norberg
BA (Psychology), MS (Clinical Psychology), PhD (Clinical Psychology)
Dr Melissa Norberg is currently employed as a Senior Lecturer at NDARC. She is the National Clinical Services and Evaluation Manager of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC), a consortium led by NDARC. As such, she is responsible for developing and evaluating the efficacy of interventions aimed at decreasing cannabis use. Melissa’s doctoral thesis examined the link between rule-governed behavior, experiential avoidance, and anxiety, in order to understand whether acceptance and mindfulness approaches may be helpful in treating anxiety disorders. Given her research and clinical background in anxiety disorders, she is interested in developing behavioural treatments that target co-occurring anxiety and substance use disorders.
Memberships:
Member of the Australian Psychological Society, Member of the Clinical College
American Psychological Association, APA Division 12, Section 3: Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Women’s Issues Special Interest Group
Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation
Reviewer:
Behavior Therapy
Behaviour Research and Therapy
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0259
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Susannah O’Brien
BSc (Psych) (Hons)
Susannah O'Brien is employed as a Senior Research Officer and has been involved in a number of key projects since joining NDARC. Projects have included the Illicit Drug Reporting System pilot (IDRS), the multi-site, randomised trial of buprenorphine versus methadone, and the National Evaluation of Pharmacotherapies for Opioid Dependence (NEPOD). Her most recent project and publication reviewed the effects of adolescent cannabis use on mental health. She is currently once again involved in the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) project in a National Co-ordinator role. Her research interests are varied and include pharmacological treatments for opioid dependence (for withdrawal and maintenance), comorbidity between drug use and mental health problems and trends in illicit drug use. Susannah is also completing a Master of Psychology (Clinical).
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0277
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Michael Otim
BSc (Hons), GDip in Econ, Postgrad Dip Health Econ, MEcon (Hons)
Michael Otim is a health economist at NDARC where he is involved in assessing the cost-effectiveness of tobacco and alcohol interventions with Associate Professor Chris Doran. Michael is also completing his PhD (Priority setting in Aboriginal health: The role of economic evidence) at The University of Melbourne. He is a Centre for Co-operative Research in Aboriginal Health (CRC-AH) PhD scholar.
Michael Otim worked until recently as a research fellow at the Health Economics Unit at Deakin University. His work involved assessing the cost-effectiveness of alcohol interventions in Aboriginal communities. Prior to that, he was a research fellow at The University of Melbourne, where he led several economic policy projects in Aboriginal health. He has also worked as a health economist in several positions including the Department of Human Services, Victoria, and the NSW Department of Health.
Michael's research interests include: the economics of alcohol and tobacco control; priority setting in Aboriginal health; and health economics policy in Developing Countries.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0139
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Marie-Andree Peek-O'Leary
Dip Ed, BSc, B Psych (Hons), MPsych (Clinical)
Marie-Andree joined NDARC in July 2008 as a Research Officer. She is currently employed on the NHMRC-funded randomised control trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for concurrent post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0382
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Benjamin Phillips
BSocSc (Hons)
Benjamin Phillips joined NDARC in 2007 as a Research Officer, initially as a member of the Secretariat for the Reference Group to the UN on HIV and IDU, and more recently as the coordinator of the NSW arm of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS). Benjamin has a background in the drug and alcohol field. He has worked on projects on HIV prevention in the Asia-Pacific region and also compiling key publications for International Harm Reduction Association. Benjamin has an interest in medical anthropology and is currently a Masters candidate.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0264
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Shale Preston
BA (Hons)
Shale Preston is the Executive Officer at NDARC. Shale joined NDARC in December 2006. Shale has extensive administrative/managerial experience in the tertiary sector. From 2002 to 2006 she worked as the Administration Manager for the School of Psychiatry in the UNSW Faculty of Medicine. Prior to that, she worked at the University of Sydney in various posts within the Faculties of Law, Arts and Nursing.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0115
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Heather Proudfoot
BSc (Psych) (Hons), PhD
Heather Proudfoot is a part-time Research Fellow at NDARC. She has been involved in a number of key projects since joining NDARC where she completed her PhD in 2007. Her PhD focussed on DSM-IV alcohol use disorders with a particular emphasis on their validity as well as factors influencing treatment-seeking for alcohol dependence in the Australian population. Her main areas of interest are comorbidity of drug and alcohol disorders with other mental disorders, treatments for single and comorbid disorders, and analysis of aspects of the Australian National Survey of Mental health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB).
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0289
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
John Redmond
John Redmond joined NDARC in January 2008. He is presently employed as Research Officer at NCPIC. Previously he worked as an Administrator and Research Assistant at NCHECR, UNSW.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0451
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Alison Ritter
BA (Hons), MA(Clin Psych), PhD, MAPS
Alison Ritter, Director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program, is an Associate Professor at the Centre, with adjunct appointments with the Regulatory Institutions Network, The Australian National University and the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University. After completing her Masters in Clinical Psychology, she worked full-time as a clinical psychologist. During this time, she commenced her PhD in treatment outcomes associated with acquired brain injury. A subsequent move to a policy position with the Victorian Department of Human Services led to a secondment to establish the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre on behalf of Government in 1994. As Deputy Director of Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre from 1995 to 2005, Alison completed numerous clinical research projects, including trials of new medications for the treatment of heroin dependence and managed epidemiological, health services research and evaluation.
With an NHMRC Research Fellowship and a significant philanthropic grant, Alison is currently director of a major illicit drug policy research program, the Drug Policy Modelling Program in collaboration with scholars from The ANU, the Burnet Centre and Griffith University. The goal of the work is to advance illicit drug policy through improving the evidence-base, developing new policy decision-making tools and understanding the best mix of policy options (law enforcement, prevention, treatment and harm reduction) and the ways in which these different policy options dynamically interact.
Memberships:
Executive Editor, Drug and Alcohol Review
President, Australian Professional Society on Alcohol & Drugs
Vice President, International Society for the Study of Drug Policy
Member, College of Problems on Drug Dependence (CPDD)
Reviewer:
A/Prof Ritter reviews for a range of competitive funding bodies and international addictions journals, including Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Addiction, Drug & Alcohol Review and International Journal of Drug Policy as well as Australian Psychologist and the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0236
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Anna Roberts
BA (Psychology), MIPH
Anna Roberts joined NDARC in November 2007 as a Research Officer in the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use. Anna has a BA in Psychology from Furman University in South Carolina, USA, and a Masters in International Public Health from Sydney University. Previously, Anna has worked in a youth development programme in Bulgaria (2003-2005) and in Northern Uganda with the International Rescue Committee (2006). She is currently studying law at Sydney University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0349
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Lisa Robins
BSc (Psych) (Hons)
Lisa Robins joined NDARC in March 2006. She is a part-time Research Officer working on a project looking at the link between cannabis and mental health for the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. She is currently undertaking a Masters in Clinical Psychology at Macquarie University.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0238
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Sally Rooke
BA (Psych) (Hons)
Sally Rooke began working at NDARC in September 2008 as a Senior Research Officer for the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC). She is involved in a project evaluating the effectiveness of a web-based intervention in helping individuals who wish to reduce their cannabis use. Sally has taught undergraduate Research Methods and Statistics, and Psychopathology units, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Psychology examining adolescent and adult differences in the decision-making processes that lead to substance use.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0450
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Julia Rosenfeld
BPsych (Hons), MPsych (Clinical)
Julia Rosenfeld joined NDARC in March 2007 as a Research Psychologist. Julia is currently employed on the NHMRC funded randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for PTSD and illicit drug use disorders. Julia is a registered clinical psychologist, and her areas of interest include the psychopathology and treatment of comorbid mental health and substance use disorders.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0145
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Joanne Ross
RN, BSc (Hons), PhD
Dr Joanne Ross is a Senior Lecturer at NDARC, and has 15 years experience in drug and alcohol research. Joanne was awarded her PhD in 1999 for her work on benzodiazepine use among heroin users. Her research interests include treatment outcomes for heroin and methamphetamine dependence, and psychiatric comorbidity among injecting drug users. Joanne was the Project Coordinator for the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS), the first cohort study of heroin treatment entrants to be conducted in Australia. She is also an investigator on an NHMRC funded study of treatment outcomes for methamphetamine dependence, and is currently directing a study examining suicide risk assessment practices in drug and alcohol treatment settings. Joanne is an Assistant Editor for Addiction, the leading international journal in the field. She is also a regular reviewer for a range of drug and alcohol journals.
Reviewer:
Addiction
Drug & Alcohol Dependence
Drug and Alcohol Review
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Lancet
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0235
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Amanda Roxburgh
BA (Hons) Psych, MCrim, MPsychol (Clinical)
Amanda Roxburgh is employed as a Senior Research Officer with NDARC and is currently working on the National Illicit Drug Indicators Project. Prior to this project, she worked for two years on the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) as the NSW Coordinator. She has recently completed her Masters in Clinical Psychology at the University of New South Wales. Her honours thesis examined the relationship between juvenile drug use and crime and her masters thesis investigated posttraumatic stress disorder, drug use and dependence, and associated risk behaviours among street-based sex workers. Her research interests include comorbid mental health and drug use problems among marginalised populations (including IDU and street-based sex workers) and monitoring trends in illicit drug-related harms in Australia.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0275
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Claudia Sannibale
BA (Hons), MPsych (Clin), PhD
Dr Claudia Sannibale joined NDARC in October 2004 as an AERF Research Fellow. Since completing her PhD at NDARC in 1995, Claudia has been working as a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Clinical Psychologist in Drug Health Services, Central Sydney Area Health Service. She has extensive clinical experience working with clients with alcohol and other drug problems and has conducted several treatment outcome studies in the field. She has also worked in community mental health services and has an interest in dual disorders. Her focus is now on the development and evaluation of an intervention for people with alcohol use disorders and concurrent anxiety disorders.
Reviewer:
Drug and Alcohol Review
Addiction
Memberships:
Member of the Australian Psychological Society
Member of the Australian Association for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0259
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Carla Santos
Carla joined NDARC in September 2005. She is reponsible for providing administrative and financial assistance to the centre. Carla has previous experience in administration in the Finance and Insurance Sector.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0281
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Caroline Santoso
BEd (Secondary)/BA
Caroline Santoso joined NDARC in July 2008 as an administrative assistant.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0331
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Laura Scott
BSc (Hons)Psych
Laura Scott joined NDARC in July 2008. She is currently the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) coordinator for both NSW and the Northern Territory. Her past research has focused on the long-term effects of MDMA (Ecstasy) on the social, sexual and maternal behaviour of female rats. Laura's current research interests include the neuropsychological impact of MDMA (ecstasy), its long-term effects and patterns of use.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0407
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Anthony Shakeshaft
BA, MA, PhD
Dr Anthony Shakeshaft has been working in the field of public health research for over 10 years, addressing a wide range of issues from drug and alcohol problems to quality health care issues in public hospitals in Sydney, Australia. He has authored numerous scientific papers published in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as many invited papers and reports, and has presented his work at international conferences, both as a delegate and an invited speaker. He has obtained over $3,000,000 in competitive research grants.
His current major project is a five year randomised controlled trial, involving 20 rural communities in NSW, aimed at reducing the incidence of alcohol-related harm. The project is funded by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AERF) and is scheduled to run from August 2004 to August 2009. It is a joint initiative with the University of Newcastle.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Marian Shanahan
BA (Hons), MA
Marian Shanahan has been employed at NDARC as a Health Economist for five years. She has worked on a number of projects exploring the social and economic impacts associated with the treatment for and misuse of illicit drugs and alcohol including assessing the economic costs of treatment in the ATOS, assessing the cost-offset of methadone treatment compared to cost of crime prevented and a CEA of the NSW Adult Drug Court Program. Marian has recently joined the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) and will be pursuing her PhD on the topic of the costs and benefits of cannabis policy options.
Reviewer:
Applied Health Economics and Health Policy
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Honorary Editorial Board - Applied Health Economics and Health Policy
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0229
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Fiona Shand
BBusMgt, BSc Psych (Hons), MPsychol (Clinical)
Fiona Shand is employed as a Senior Research Officer at NDARC and is currently team coordinator for the Comorbidity and Trauma Study (CATS), a large case control study examining the interactions between childhood trauma, genetics and heroin dependence. CATS is a collaborative study between NDARC, Washington University, and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Prior to this, Fiona ran a project to develop and then disseminate national evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of alcohol problems. In 2001, she completed the 4th National Census of Clients of Treatment Service Agencies (COTSA), the report from which was published as part of the National Drug Strategy.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Ed Silins
BNurs, MPH (Hons), RN
Edmund Silins has been involved in a variety of projects since joining NDARC in 2005. These projects have included the revision of needle and syringe program resource materials, an evaluation of a residential drug and alcohol detoxification service and the development of materials on ecstasy and related drugs. He has a particular interest in cannabis and psychostimulant research which addresses health issues relevant to young users and is undertaking PhD studies looking in to mental health outcomes of cannabis users.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0141
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Melanie Simpson
B Soc Sci (Criminology) (Hons)
Melanie Simpson joined NDARC as a research officer in 2005. She is currently working with the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre whilst undertaking a PhD examining cannabis use among offenders. In the past, Melanie has worked on the Australian Alcohol Treatment Outcome Measure (AATOM) project in collaboration with Turning Point and the Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs (NADA).
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0172
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Natasha Sindicich
BPsych (Hons)
Natasha Sindicich joined NDARC in December 2006 and is currently employed as the NSW Coordinator of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS). She is also working on the Health and Psychological consequences of Ecstasy use monograph funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Natasha has worked with the Australian Institute of Criminology and NSW Police Force on the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) project. She completed her undergraduate psychology Honours degree at the University of New South Wales and is currently completing her Masters Psychology (Forensic).
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0191
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Tim Slade
BSc(Psychol), PhD
Dr Tim Slade joined NDARC in July 2007 to increase the centre's capacity to carry out sophisticated biostatistical analyses of existing data sets and to aid in the design and analysis of a range of epidemiological projects. He is coordinating the 2nd Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, a large cross-sectional epidemiological survey examining the prevalence of mental and substance use disorders in the general population. Dr Slade is also supervising the NDARC arm of a multi-centre NHMRC project grant examining the contributions of epidemiological data to the revision of psychiatric classification systems. His research interests include the application of novel statistical methods to understand the typology of mental and substance use disorders and the descriptive epidemiology of mental and substance use disorders in the general population.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0267
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Jenny Stafford
B Nursing, MPH
Jenny Stafford has been with NDARC since early 2001. During this time she has worked on the National Evaluation of Pharmacotherapies for Opioid Dependence (NEPOD) project, was involved in writing the 'Guidelines for the Treatment of Alcohol Problems’, ran workshops nationally introducing professionals to these guidelines and has worked on projects with the NDARC Health Economists. After working on the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and Ecstacy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) as the National Co-ordinator for a number of years, Jenny has recently returned part-time to help out on these projects. Before NDARC, Jenny worked as a registered nurse in the AOD field for a number of years.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0244
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Kylie Sutherland
BA (Hons), MPsych (Clinical), PhD
Dr Kylie Sutherland joined NDARC in March 2007 as a Research Associate. Kylie is currently employed on the NHMRC funded randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for concurrent post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders. Kylie is a registered clinical psychologist and recently completed a PhD at UNSW examining autobiographical memory processes in PTSD. Her research interests include the psychopathology and treatment of comorbid mental health and substance use disorders.
Reviewer:
Behaviour Research and Therapy
Memberships:
Australian Psychological Society
Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0183
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Email:
Rachel Sutherland
B Soc Sci (Criminology) (Hons)
Rachel Sutherland joined NDARC in April 2007 as a Research Officer. She is currently working on the Methamphetamine Treatment Evaluation Study (MATES) with Dr Rebecca McKetin.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0177
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Wendy Swift
BA (Hons), MPH, PhD
Dr Wendy Swift is employed as a Senior Lecturer at NDARC. She was awarded her doctorate in 1999 for her work on patterns and correlates of cannabis dependence. Since then she has examined cannabis dependence for the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, and she has been co-investigator on several clinical studies of interventions for adult and adolescent cannabis users. Her current work includes analyses of cannabis use in the Victorian Adolescent Cohort Study, cannabis potency and contamination, cannabis and driving, and the use of alcohol and medicines. Her research interests are cannabis use and dependence, the therapeutic potential of cannabis, comorbidity, the characteristics of the cannabis market, and substance use among older Australians.
Reviewer:
Addiction
Drug and Alcohol Review
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Contemporary Drug Problems
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Psychological Medicine
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
Memberships:
Registered Psychologist (NSW)
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Stephanie Taplin
BA, MA, Dip Crim, PhD
Dr Stephanie Taplin joined NDARC in May 2007 with nearly 20 years experience conducting research for government research centres in the areas of illicit drug use, criminology and, most recently, child protection. Since coming to NDARC she has been awarded fellowship funding by the NSW Department of Community Services to undertake a three year study of women in opioid pharmacological treatment who have dependent children and their involvement with the child protection system. Dr Taplin has particular interests in the areas of parental substance misuse and child protection, prevention and early intervention.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0193
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Kirsty Taylor
BA (Psych) (Hons)
Kirsty Taylor joined NDARC in March 2007 as a Research Psychologist. Kirsty is currently employed on the NHMRC funded randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of an integrated intervention for concurrent post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders. Kirsty is a registered psychologist who has worked in drug and alcohol treatment for several years.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0179
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Maree Teesson
BSc Hons (Psychol), PhD
Professor Maree Teesson graduated with a PhD from the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales in 1996 under Professor Gavin Andrews. She was the Director of Research in the innovative Inner City Mental Health Services, Sydney before taking the role of Lecturer at NDARC in 1997. She was Deputy Director of the Centre from 2002-2008. NDARC has over 100 academic, research and administrative staff and an international reputation for drug and alcohol research. In 2008 Professor Teesson was awarded a prestigious NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship.
During the past 11 years, Prof Teesson has made a major contribution to Australia’s health and medical research effort in the field of mental health and drug and alcohol. In particular, she is known nationally and internationally for her research on the comorbidity between mental disorders and drug and alcohol disorders. Prof Teesson has also been a key contributor in developing new approaches to the measurement and treatment of drug and alcohol problems and the evaluation of health service delivery.
Prof Teesson has a strong track record of winning competitive scientific grant funding and has published more than 150 papers, reports and books. In addition to her position as Deputy Director of NDARC, Prof Teesson holds an honorary appointment with the Health Services Research Group, Institute of Psychiatry, London. She maintains a string link with treatment services and is a founding member (since 1990) of the Mental Health Services Conference Inc, the largest mental health services conference in Australia.
Assistant Editor:
Current Drug Abuse Reviews
Reviewer:
Medical Journal of Australia
Addiction
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Drug and Alcohol Review
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Johanna Thomas
BA (Psych), MPH
Johanna Thomas joined NDARC in 2008. She is currently employed as a Research Officer working on a project investigating the attitudes toward, knowledge of, and prevalence of illicit drug use among elite athletes. Previously, she worked for the Global Burden of Disease project’s Mental Disorders and Illicit Drugs Group. Jo completed her Masters of Public Health degree at the University of Sydney.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0187
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Michelle Torok
B Soc Sc (Criminology) (Hons)
Michelle Torok joined NDARC in 2005 as a research officer and was involved in a large case control study examining the potential gene-environment interactions between childhood trauma and the development of opioid dependence. Michelle is currently working on a study looking at the relationship between methamphetamine use and violent crime.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0104
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Barbara Toson
Laurea in Scienze Statistiche ed Economiche (2nd level university degree in Statistics and Economics)
Barbara Toson joined NDARC in November 2008 as a biostatistician. Previously, she has worked as a project manager for the Population Research and Evaluation team at Statistics New Zealand and as a senior researcher at the Office for National Statistics in the UK where she maintained and analysed a database of drug poisoning deaths in England and Wales. Barbara also attended short courses in basic and advanced epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in 2003 and 2004.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0204
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Michaela Turner
Michaela Turner joined NDARC in June 2009 as an Administrative Officer. Previously she has worked as a Project Officer for the Rural Clinical School in both Sydney and Coffs Harbour.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0355
Fax No: (02) 9385 0222
Laura Vogl
BSc (Psych) (Hons), MPsych (Clinical) (Hons), PhD
Laura Vogl joined NDARC in 2003 and is currently an ARC post doctoral research fellow. Her PhD focused on overcoming the barriers to the implementation of school-based drug prevention programs. Specifically, her doctorate involved the development and evaluation of a cartoon-based computer-driven secondary school drug prevention program for the prevention of alcohol misuse and related harms (CLIMATE Schools: Alcohol Module). Her post doctoral research involves the development and evaluation of further school-based drug prevention programs for cannabis and psychostimulants and other prevention programs for at-risk behaviours. Laura has extensive experience as a clinical psychologist in the area of general adolescent and adult mental health. Her research interests include the prevention of mental health problems, adolescent mental health issues and women’s health issues.
Contact details:
Telephone: (02) 9385 0333
Fax number: (02) 9385 0222