Registration is now open for the 2022 NDARC Annual Research Symposium.
The Symposium will showcase the work of leading national and international researchers in the alcohol and other drugs sector and related fields.
This year’s event is being held online on Tuesday, 20 and Wednesday, 21 September 2022.
Registration is free. Full event program coming soon.
Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Session one: Into the future of Indigenous research
Time: 1.30pm – 3.00pm
Session two: Exploring novel treatments
Time: 3.15pm – 5.00pm
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Session one: Evolving priorities
Time: 1.30pm – 3.00pm
Session two: Informing policy options
Time: 3.15pm – 5.00pm
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*Please note, certificates of attendance are available for all sessions. Attendees must liaise with their supervisor or appropriate industry body to confirm that the 2022 NDARC Annual Research Symposium is eligible towards continuing professional development hours.
For resources and presentations from the 2021 NDARC Annual Research Symposium please click here.
Program:
| Day One: Tuesday, 20 September 2022 Session One: Into the future of Indigenous research Chair: Sara Farnbach - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, NDARC, UNSW Sydney |
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| 1.30pm – 1.35pm | Welcome to Country |
| 1.35pm – 1.40pm | Welcome and introduction |
| 1.40pm – 1.45pm | Director’s welcome Professor Michael Farrell |
| 1.45pm – 2.15pm | Novel Interventions to address methamphetamine use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities Professor James Ward - Director, Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, The University of Queensland This presentation will focus on a research program with multiple strategies undertaken in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services nationally. The study aimed to understand methamphetamine use and its context, and importantly outcomes from an intervention trail, aimed at reducing methamphetamine use among the population. |
| 2.15pm – 2.30pm | Questions |
| 2.30pm – 2.50pm | The integration of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) into routine service-delivery by Aboriginal Community Controlled primary and residential rehabilitation alcohol and other drug (AoD) services Nicole Snowdon - Phd Candidate, NDARC, UNSW Sydney The Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) program is an evidence-based cognitive behavioural approach for family members of people experiencing an alcohol or other drug problem. CRAFT has not been trialled for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people before, and this project aims to explore the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of CRAFT when delivered by Aboriginal Community Controlled AoD service providers as part of their routine service delivery. |
| 2.50pm – 3.00pm | Questions |
| 3.00pm – 3.15pm BREAK |
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| Session two: Exploring novel treatments Chair: Anthony Gill - Chief Addiction Medicine Specialist, NSW Ministry of Health |
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| 3.15pm – 3.30pm | Spotlight presentations NDARC higher degree research (HDR) candidates and early career research (ECR) staff share three-minute presentations |
| 3.30pm – 3.50pm | The two year follow up of the CoLAB study cohort Professor Michael Farrell - Director, NDARC, UNSW Sydney Following the publication of the one-year CoLAB study of 100 people who were started on depot buprenorphine, a second year of follow up has been completed. The key findings including treatment retention and secondary outcomes will be presented. |
| 3.50pm – 4.10pm | Lisdexamfetamine for the treatment of acute methamphetamine withdrawal Liam Acheson - PhD Candidate, NDARC, UNSW Sydney There are no effective pharmacological treatments for methamphetamine withdrawal. We aimed to determine safety and feasibility of a tapering dose of lisdexamfetamine for the treatment of acute methamphetamine withdrawal. |
| 4.10pm – 4.30pm | Text Messaging Interventions for Smoking Cessation Bridget Howard - Clinical Research Coordinator, NDARC, UNSW Sydney The Tobacco Research Group at NDARC will soon begin recruitment for a randomised controlled trial that aims to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a tailored text message quit support program at achieving six month continuous biochemically verified smoking abstinence compared to standard Quitline support services in low socio-economic status daily smokers. |
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4.30pm – 4.40pm |
The next big step in methamphetamine pharmacotherapy in Australia Associate Professor Rebecca McKetin - Associate Professor, NDARC, UNSW Sydney There has been a resurgence of methamphetamine clinical trial activity in Australia with the recently completed N-ICE trial (N-Acetylcysteine for methamphetamine dependence) and the LiMA trial (lisdexamphetamine for the treatment of methamphetamine addiction). On the back of recent developments in the USA, and this enhanced capacity for clinical trials on methamphetamine dependence, we are now undertaking a Phase 3 double-blind placebo-controlled trial of mirtazapine for methamphetamine dependence. |
| 4.45pm – 4.55pm | Questions |
| 4.55 – 5.00pm | Director’s closing Professor Michael Farrell |
| Day two: Wednesday, 21 September 2022 Session one: Evolving priorities |
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| 1.30pm – 1.35pm | Director’s welcome Professor Michael Farrell |
| 1.35pm – 1.50pm | Emerging trends in drug use, harms, and markets: Findings from Drug Trends 2022 Dr Rachel Sutherland - Deputy Program Lead of Drug Trends, NDARC, UNSW Sydney Findings from the 2022 Illicit Drug Reporting System interviews (a sentinel sample of people who inject drugs) and the 2022 Ecstasy and Related Drug Reporting System interviews (a sentinel sample of people who use stimulants) will be presented for the first time. These two crucial monitoring systems have been running for approximately two decades across Australia. Historical trends, as well as highlights from 2022, will be discussed in the context of shaping responses to drug related harms in Australia. Given the dynamic nature of drug use and drug markets, understanding and mapping evolving trends is vital. |
| 1.50pm – 2.05pm | Changes in illicit drug markets, use and harms in Australia since the COVID-19 pandemic Associate Professor Amy Peacock - Program Lead for Drug Trends, NDARC, UNSW Sydney This presentation will give an overview of the current evidence as to changes in illicit drug markets, use and harms in Australia since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions. Included in the presentation will be results from new analyses on trends in key illicit drug market indicators, and study of drug-related hospitalisations, deaths and treatment episodes over the course of the pandemic. This presentation will highlight what we know – and what we are still yet to establish – in understanding the potential impacts of the pandemic in Australia. |
| 2.05pm – 2.35pm | Professor Julie Bruneau - Professor in the Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Université de Montréal |
| 2.35pm – 3.00pm | Panel discussion: What have we learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and what should be considered when the next threat emerges? |
| 3.00pm – 3.15pm BREAK |
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| Session two: Informing policy options Chair: Daniel Maddedu Executive Director, Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs, NSW Ministry of Health |
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| 3.15pm – 3.25pm | Spotlight presentations NDARC higher degree research (HDR) candidates and early career research (ECR) staff share three-minute presentations. |
| 3.25pm – 3.55pm | Scientia Professor Louisa Degenhardt - Deputy Director, NDARC, UNSW Sydney |
| 3.35pm – 3.55pm | Professor Matthew Hickman - Head of Population Health Sciences and Deputy Head of Bristol Medical School |
| 3.55pm – 4.10pm | Changes in and correlates of Australian public attitudes toward illicit drug use Professor Don Weatherburn - Professor, NDARC, UNSW Sydney This presentation explores Australian public support for more lenient treatment of persons found in possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use. There is strong support for legalising use of cannabis. There is little support for legalising use of ecstasy and cocaine but growing public support for a less punitive approach to those who use these drugs. There is little public support for a change in the current approach to heroin and methamphetamine. |
| 4.10pm – 4.25pm | Questions |
| 4.25pm – 4.50pm | Panel discussion: Contrasting e-cigarette policy across Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. |
| 4.50 – 5.00pm | Director’s closing Announcement of spotlight presentation people’s choice award Professor Michael Farrell |