2024 NDARC Annual Research Symposium
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Overview
The 2024 NDARC Annual Research Symposium occurred in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, 20 September 2024. For over two decades, our Symposium has been fostering research, collaboration, and innovation in the alcohol and other drugs (AoD) sector, and this event continued this significant legacy. It was a free, one-day in-person event of learning, ideas exchange, and network development facilitated by internationally renowned researchers and community leaders. Our carefully curated sessions covered various topics at the forefront of groundbreaking AoD research.
In case you missed it, you can explore our dynamic program below and catch up on recordings here.
Media enquiries
If interested in interviewing any of our speakers, please contact NDARC Media.
Email: ndarc.media@unsw.edu.au | Phone: 0401713850
Event Resources
Missed the Symposium? Click on the link below to watch the session recordings on-demand, anytime, anywhere.
The event handbook provides detailed information about each session, speaker and research abstract.
Program
- Symposium Program
- Sessions Highlights
Time |
Activity |
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8:30 - 9.00 AM |
Registration |
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9:00 - 9.07 AM |
Welcome to Country Uncle Michael West Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council |
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9.07 – 9.10 AM |
Director’s Welcome Professor Michael Farrell Director, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), UNSW |
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Plenary One |
Opioids Session Chair: Ms Carolyn Paterson Assistant Secretary, Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care |
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9.10 – 9.21 AM |
Using linked cohorts to examine population-wide effects of opioid agonist treatments in NSW. Scientia Professor Louisa Degenhardt, AO Research Director, NDARC, UNSW |
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9.21 – 9.42 AM |
Keynote Address: The UK supervised heroin treatment trial: success and failure to advance science, policy and practice. Professor Sir John Strang Director, National Addiction Centre (King’s College London) | Academic Lead, Addictions Clinical Academic Group, Kings Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre
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9.42 – 10.03 AM |
Keynote Address: Examining Trends in Drug-Related Deaths – the crucial importance of cohorts in informing our understanding of changing risks and harms. Professor Matthew Hickman Professor, Public Health and Epidemiology, Bristol Medical School |
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10.03 – 10.18 AM |
Global coverage of interventions to prevent and manage injecting drug use related harms in prisons: a systematic review. Dr Thomas Santo Jr Post-Doctoral Fellow, NDARC, UNSW |
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10.19 – 10.35 AM |
Development of opioid use disorder following treatment with opioid analgesics for non-cancer pain relief: an Australian state-wide nested case-control study. Dr Chrianna Bharat Post-Doctoral Fellow, NDARC, UNSW |
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10.35 – 10.55 AM |
Morning Tea |
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10.55 – 11.00 AM |
Introduction to the spotlight poster presentations by NDARC, UNSW Higher Degree Research students & post-doctoral fellows. Chair: Professor Mel Miller Partner, S&BD Economics, Deloitte Australia | Chair, NDARC Advisory Board | Adjunct Professor, Psychology, University of Queensland | Professor, Health Group, Griffith University |
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11.00 – 11.21 AM |
Ms Joanna Zhou: Retention in opioid agonist treatment following childbirth and associated factors. Ms Kendal Chidwick: Trends in prescription opioid analgesic utilisation in Australia from 2015 to 2022. Dr Ria Hopkins: Age, period, and cohort trends of substance poisoning, alcohol-related disease, and suicide deaths in Australia, 1980-2019.. Ms Olivia Price: Population ageing and the apparent decline in the initiation of injecting drug use in Australia. Dr Tayla Degan: Co-occurring DSM-IV mental disorders among people with methamphetamine dependence. Ms Emily Symes: Presentations and characteristics of trans and gender-diverse patients presenting to an Australian Emergency Department. |
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Plenary Two |
New, Novel, and Trending Session Chair: Professor Nadine Ezard Clinical Director, Alcohol and Drug Service St Vincent's Hospital Sydney Australia | Director, National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) |
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11.21 – 11.52 AM |
The Changing Face of Overdose. Professor Shane Darke Professor, NDARC, UNSW |
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11.52 AM – 12.08 PM |
Emerging drugs of concern - Prompt Response Network update. Dr Brendan Clifford Senior Research Fellow, NCCRED |
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12.08 – 12.24 PM |
Emerging drug use, harms, and markets trends: Findings from Drug Trends 2024. Dr Rachel Sutherland Senior Research Fellow, NDARC, UNSW |
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12.24 – 12.35 PM |
Q & A |
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12.35 – 1.30 PM |
Lunch |
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1.35 – 2.40 PM |
Breakout Sessions |
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Breakout One: Treatment & Trials Session Chair: Professor Apo Demirkol Director, SESLHD Drug and Alcohol Services |
Breakout Two: Community Engagement & Responses Session Chair: Ms Lisa Russell Manager, Alcohol & Other Drugs Prevention and Harm Minimisation, NSW Ministry of Health |
Breakout Three: Strong Foundations: Pregnancy & Families Session Chair: Dr Hester Wilson Chair, RACGP Addiction Special Interest Group | Clinical Director, Murrumbidgee LHD Drug and Alcohol | Medical Advisor, Population and Community Health, SESLHD |
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New behavioural and pharmacological trials for smoking cessation. Associate Professor Ryan Courtney Professor Hayden McRobbie
LAIB in Prison: A report on qualitative data from patients who commenced treatment during a clinical trial. Dr Amelia Woods
The impact of the NSW MERIT diversion program reoffending, imprisonment, and health. Professor Donald Weatherburn
We need to talk about contingency management. Associate Professor Rebecca McKetin
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Perceptions of religious and community leaders towards alcohol and other drugs and treatment in CALD communities in NSW. Dr Winifred Asare-Doku
Expanding access to addiction medicine specialist care in regional NSW through telehealth. Ms Clare Smylie
Defining approaches and research evidence around Community Action to reduce AOD harms. Dr Peter Gates
Partnering to improve health outcomes in rural communities: Establishment of a clinical service research node in northern NSW. Dr Catherine Foley |
Influences of methamphetamine use on family relationships: Interviews with family members. Ms Paige Webb
Effectiveness of prescription smoking cessation pharmacotherapies during pregnancy: a multi-national study. Dr Annelies Robijn
Trends in the use of opioid agonist treatment for opioid dependence in pregnancy. Dr Duong Tran
Use of opioid agonist therapy in pregnancy: Timing of initiation and treatment retention. Ms Bianca Varney |
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2.40 – 3.00 PM |
Afternoon Tea |
Plenary Three |
Alcohol Session Chair: Mr Matthew Craig Director, Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs |
3.00 – 3.31 PM |
Keynote Address: WHO's Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030. What are the critical issues for Prevention and Policy? Professor Jürgen Rehm Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH | Professor; Inaugural Chair, Addiction Policy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto |
3.31 – 3.46 PM |
Recent trends in alcohol use and harms in Australia. Dr Wing See Yuen Post-doctoral fellow, NDARC, UNSW |
3.47 – 4.03 PM |
Alcohol Retailers Lobbying activities: A Comparative Analysis of profit and Non-profit alcohol retail industry body policy submissions. Dr Michala Kowalski Post-Doctoral Fellow, NDARC, UNSW |
4.03 – 4.10 PM |
Director’s Close Professor Michael Farrell Director, NDARC, UNSW |
4.10 – 4.30 PM |
Entertainment followed by tea & coffee. Choir of Hard Knocks |
Sessions Highlights
- The release of the 2024 National Drug Trends Reports
- New, Novel, & Trending:
The changing face of overdose
Nitazenes & other emerging synthetics - Epidemiology and future trajectory in the Asia Pacific
- Recent trends in alcohol use and harms in Australia
- Zero-alcohol beverages in Australia
- Global interventions, diversion program reoffending, imprisonment, and health
- Improving rural health outcomes
- Influences of substance use on family relationships.
- Opioid agonist therapy during pregnancy
- Development of opioid use disorder after using opioid painkillers
- Age-related risk of serious fall events associated with opioid analgesic use.
- Virtual Component:
Live streaming of keynote sessions for remote attendees.
- Keynote Speakers
- NDARC Experts
Professor Jürgen Rehm
Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Professor Jürgen Rehm is a Senior Scientist at CAMH and a Professor at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on strategies to reduce harm from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and the impact of socioeconomic status and poverty on substance use. He has received several awards for his work, including the Jellinek Memorial Award (2003) and the European Addiction Research Award (2017).
Professor Sir John Strang
Director, the National Addiction Centre, King’s College London; Academic Lead, Addictions Clinical Academic Group (CAG), Kings Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC).
Professor Sir John Strang (MBBS, MD, FRCPsych, FRCP, FAChAM, FMedSci) qualified as a medical doctor and specialised in psychiatry and addictions, with substantial involvement in UK and international policy and practice (e.g., UN; WHO).
As a major research academic, Professor Sir John Strang has made significant contributions to the field of addictions with over 600 publications, including extensive original research. His special interest in policy formation and its relationship to improving treatment has inspired many. He has also been a lead clinician for innovative responses in community and residential settings.
Professor Sir Strang was awarded the EUFAS Lifetime Achievement Award (European Federation of Addiction Societies) in 2019 and the Chimera Lifetime Award from EuroPAD in 2022. He received a Knighthood from the Queen in 2016 for ‘services to medicine, addictions and public health’.
Professor Matthew Hickman
Professor in Public Health and Epidemiology, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol
Professor Matthew Hickman is the co-director of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluations and a member and co-investigator of the NIHR School of Public Health Research and DeCIPHER (UKCRC Public Health Centre of Excellence for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement). His research programme focuses on infectious disease control and the epidemiology and public health consequences of drug use – with active research grants on the prevention of the Hepatitis C Virus, drug-related mortality, and alcohol-related harms.
Professor Shane Darke
Professor, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW.
Professor Shane Darke has worked in the field of illicit drug research at NDARC since 1988, and is a leading world expert on the morbidity and mortality associated with illicit drug use. He written many seminal works, particularly on opioid overdose, and has published widely in the area of illicit drug use, including work on opioid overdose, psychostimulant overdose, psychopathology, suicide, trauma, treatment outcome and toxicology. As of December 2021 he had published 300 research articles, 6 books, 85 Monographs and 8 book chapters. His most recent books are The Clinician’s Guide to Illicit Drugs and Health (Silverback Publishing, 2019) and The Pocket Guide Drugs and Health (Silverback Publishing, 2021), comprehensive works that examines the health effects of each of the major drugs. He is also the Regional Editor of Addiction (the leading international journal in the field) for Australasia & Southeast Asia, and an Associate Editor of both Drug & Alcohol Dependence and Drug & Alcohol Dependence Reports.
Dr Rachel Sutherland
Senior Research Fellow, NDARC, UNSW.
Dr Rachel Sutherland (BSocSc (Crim) Hons, PhD) is a Research Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales and currently holds a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Fellowship (2021-2025). Her program of research is focused on monitoring systems for detecting trends in illicit drug use, including new psychoactive substances, and developing and evaluating novel responses to emerging drugs of concern.
Rachel is currently Deputy Program Lead for Drug Trends, and Program lead of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS).
Dr Brendan Clifford
Senior Research Fellow, NDARC, UNSW.
Dr Brendan Clifford is a Senior Research Fellow with the National Centre for Clinical Research in Emerging Drugs. Brendan is a clinician researcher who uses interdisciplinary methods to further health equity and enhance access to evidence-based healthcare. He has a broad clinical background having worked in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Australia, mainly in emergency department settings. In addition to undertaking clinical research in alcohol and other drugs, he has also held roles in inclusive health innovation, and lectured in public health and social science. He completed his PhD examining intersectoral policy for homelessness and health at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics.
Scientia Professor Louisa Degenhardt, AO
Research Director, NDARC, UNSW.
Scientia Professor Louisa Degenhardt, AO (Hons – Psychology), MPsychology (Clinical), PhD) is UNSW Scientia Professor and NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow and Deputy Director at NDARC. She has honorary Professorial appointments at the University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and the University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Scientia Professor Degenhardt conducts diverse epidemiological studies, including analysis of large-scale community and clinical population surveys, data linkage studies focusing on people with a history of drug dependence or chronic pain, and cohort studies of young people.
Location
Wesley Conference Centre, 220 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
We are delighted to announce that this year's Symposium will take place at the Wesley Conference Centre. Wesley Mission is an organisation renowned for helping people dealing with addiction, mental health, homelessness, financial difficulties, and domestic challenges. As our mission at NDARC is to see a world free from alcohol and drug-related harm, we are proud to be hosted by such an incredible organisation while showcasing the latest research in the fields of Alcohol and other Drugs (AoD) and related areas.
Conveniently located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, the Wesley Conference Centre is the perfect venue for our one-day, face-to-face event. Convenient transportation and accommodation options are nearby.
