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.
News and features
View 10 more
Generation X disproportionately impacted by methamphetamine-related deaths
Australia’s generation X face the highest risk of death from methamphetamine-related causes among all age groups, according to a new Burnet Institute study.
Australia faces rising threats from synthetic opioids
Reports of synthetic opioids contaminating Australia’s drug supply highlight the concerning pace at which they are entering the country. The Australian Federal Police recently raised concerns after detecting nitazenes in counterfeit pharmaceutical products seized at Australian borders.
Dorabjee Award recipients driving change through harm reduction
Announcing Bambang Yulistyo Dwo Mulyanto and Sujata Khadka, winners of the 2025 Dorabjee Awards.
Featured publications
Supervised Injecting Room Cohort Study (SIRX): study protocol
BMJ Open
Ashleigh C. Stewart et al
20-year trends in Australian methamphetamine-related deaths, 2001–2020
International Journal of Drug Policy
Oisin Stronach et al
Cohort Profile: The Melbourne Injecting Drug User Cohort Study (SuperMIX)
International Journal of Epidemiology
Wijnand van den Boom et al
Anxiety and depression among a community‐recruited cohort of people who use methamphetamine: A longitudinal analysis
Addiction
Zoe Duncan et al
Disproportionate, differential and targeted treatment: people who use drugs’ experiences of policing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Health & Justice
Shelley Walker et al
The impacts of COVID‐19 measures on drug markets and drug use among a cohort of people who use methamphetamine in Victoria, Australia
Addiction
Kasun Rathnayake et al
Twenty-year trends in pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicit fentanyl deaths, Australia 2001–2021
International Journal of Drug Policy
Amanda Roxburgh, Suzanne Nielsen
Changes in Australians' attitudes towards supervised injecting facilities
Drug and Alcohol Review
Zachary Lloyd et al
A prospective cohort of people who use methamphetamine in Melbourne and non‐metropolitan Victoria, Australia: Baseline characteristics and correlates of methamphetamine dependence
Drug and Alcohol Review
Brendan Quinn et al
Group contacts
Professor Paul Dietze
Program Director, Disease Elimination; Professor and Program Leader, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
Student supervisor contacts
Associate Professor Peter Higgs
Principal Research Fellow; Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University
Professor Paul Dietze
Program Director, Disease Elimination; Professor and Program Leader, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
Group members
Professor Paul Dietze
Program Director, Disease Elimination; Professor and Program Leader, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
Associate Professor Peter Higgs
Principal Research Fellow; Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University
Dr Amanda Roxburgh
Senior Research Fellow
Anja Busse
Honorary Senior Fellow
Ashleigh Stewart
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Bianca Whiteside
PhD candidate; Research Assistant
Dr Caitlin Douglass
Senior Research Officer
Caitlin Caselli
Master’s Student
Dr Campbell Aitken
Research Fellow
Dr Danielle Horyniak
Honorary Staff member
Filip Djordjevic
Research Assistant
Dr Jocelyn Chan
Public Health Physician and Research Officer
Professor Margaret Hellard AM
Deputy Director, Programs; Adjunct Professor, Monash University, DEPM.
Professor Mark A Stoové
Head of Public Health
Dr Michael Curtis
Postdoctoral Research Officer
Dr Rebecca Winter
Deputy Head, Justice Health
Rebekka (Bek) Petrovic
Research Assistant
Dr Shelley Walker
Adjunct Research Fellow
Dr Sophia Schroeder
Senior Research Officer
Stephanie Curtis
Surveillance Officer / Master of Philosophy (Applied Epidemiology) Scholar
Wai Chung Tse
Research Assistant
Zachary Lloyd
Research Assistant
Matthew Gill
PhD Student
