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Alcohol Other Drugs 510X288
Amanda Roxburgh Peter Higgs Paul Dietze
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Alcohol and Other Drugs

We conduct leading research on alcohol and other drug dependence, working with at-risk populations including people who are drug dependent and people who inject drugs.

About

In Australia, alcohol and other drug dependence is a major issue. According to Rethink Addiction (2022), it contributes to health and social harms that cost the Australian community approximately $35 billion a year.

Burnet has a well-established reputation working with communities to reduce alcohol and other drug-related harms. This includes at-risk populations such as:

  • people who are drug dependent
  • people without stable housing
  • people who inject drugs.

Our work uses innovative research designs and methods including:

  • cross-sectional surveys
  • population surveys
  • longitudinal cohort data linkage studies

We also collaborate with researchers from key national and international institutions. 

Our aims are to:

  • document the trajectories of alcohol and other drug use
  • document key intervention points to reduce harms
  • develop innovative studies to better understand
    • patterns of alcohol and other drug use
    • related harms in the community
  • develop, implement and evaluate new interventions to reduce alcohol and other drug-related harms.

Key achievement

The National Health and Medical Research Council has awarded $3.9 million to Burnet Institute. The funding is to establish a cohort of people who inject drugs and use the North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR). With their consent, the cohort will be followed through record linkage to administrative (e.g. health and housing) data.

The program brings together partners from nationwide research institutes, universities and community-based organisations.  

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Group contacts

Professor Paul Dietze

Professor Paul Dietze

Program Director, Disease Elimination; Professor and Program Leader, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
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Student supervisor contacts

Dr Michael Curtis

Dr Michael Curtis

Postdoctoral Research Officer
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Dr Anna Wilkinson

Dr Anna Wilkinson

Research Fellow
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Associate Professor Peter Higgs

Associate Professor Peter Higgs

Principal Research Fellow; Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University
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Dr Rebecca Winter

Dr Rebecca Winter

Deputy Head Justice Health Group
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Professor Paul Dietze

Professor Paul Dietze

Program Director, Disease Elimination; Professor and Program Leader, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
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Dr Shelley Walker

Dr Shelley Walker

Adjunct Research Fellow
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Dr Amanda Roxburgh

Dr Amanda Roxburgh

Senior Research Fellow
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Dr Rachel Sacks-Davis

Dr Rachel Sacks-Davis

Senior Research Fellow
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Group members

Professor Paul Dietze

Professor Paul Dietze

Program Director, Disease Elimination; Professor and Program Leader, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
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Associate Professor Peter Higgs

Associate Professor Peter Higgs

Principal Research Fellow; Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University
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Dr Amanda Roxburgh

Dr Amanda Roxburgh

Senior Research Fellow
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Anja Busse

Anja Busse

Honorary Senior Fellow
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Ashleigh Stewart

Ashleigh Stewart

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Bianca Whiteside

Bianca Whiteside

PhD candidate; Research Assistant
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Dr Caitlin Douglass

Dr Caitlin Douglass

Senior Research Officer
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Caitlin Caselli

Caitlin Caselli

Master’s Student
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Dr Campbell  Aitken

Dr Campbell Aitken

Research Fellow
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Dr Danielle Horyniak

Dr Danielle Horyniak

Honorary Staff member
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Filip Djordjevic

Filip Djordjevic

Research Assistant
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Dr Jocelyn Chan

Dr Jocelyn Chan

Public Health Physician and Research Officer
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Professor Margaret Hellard AM

Professor Margaret Hellard AM

Deputy Director, Programs; Adjunct Professor, Monash University, DEPM.
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Professor Mark A  Stoové

Professor Mark A Stoové

Head of Public Health
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Dr Michael Curtis

Dr Michael Curtis

Postdoctoral Research Officer
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Dr Rebecca Winter

Dr Rebecca Winter

Deputy Head Justice Health Group
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Rebekka (Bek) Petrovic

Rebekka (Bek) Petrovic

Research Assistant
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Dr Shelley Walker

Dr Shelley Walker

Adjunct Research Fellow
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Sophia Schroeder

Sophia Schroeder

Research Officer / Post-doctoral Researcher
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Stephanie Curtis

Stephanie Curtis

Surveillance Officer / Master of Philosophy (Applied Epidemiology) Scholar
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Wai Chung Tse

Wai Chung Tse

Research Assistant
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Zachary  Lloyd

Zachary Lloyd

Research Assistant
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