Background

Rebecca Winter has over 15 years of experience in public health research. Primarily, she has worked on studies relating to risk behaviours and risk groups relating to communicable disease transmission, with a particular interest in drug user and justice-involved populations. Rebecca completed her doctoral studies on injecting drug-related harms among prisoners and ex-prisoners in 2016.

Appointments

• Burnet Fellow
• Honorary Research Fellow, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
• Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

Positions

• 2022: Deputy Head Justice Health Group
• 2022: Research Fellow, Burnet Institute
• 2020: Senior Research Officer, Burnet Institute
• 2016: Research Officer, Burnet Institute
• 2011-2016: PhD candidate, Monash University and Burnet Institute
• 2005-2010: Research Assistant, Burnet Institute

Qualifications

• 2017: PhD, Monash University, Australia
• 2010: MPH, Latrobe University, Australia
• 2002: BA, Latrobe University, Australia

Awards

• 2016: Burnet Institute Travel Award
• 2013: ICAAP (International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific) student scholarship, Bangkok, Thailand
• 2012: NIDA Conference Scholarship, Academic and Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health, Atlanta, GA, USA
• 2010: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) PhD Scholarship, Dora Lush Public Health Scholarship

Projects (9)

Current (6)

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  EC Australia: Eliminate Hepatitis C Australia Partnership

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  EC Partnership: Eliminate Hepatitis C Partnership

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  Feasibility study for a potential medically supervised injecting centre/drug consumption service for the ACT

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  Sexual health and STIs among people who use drugs❗Student Projects Available

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  The B-VAX Project: Hep B vaccinations for people who inject drugs

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  The elimination of hepatitis C as a global public health threat

Past (1)

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  co-EC Study: Eliminating hepatitis C/HIV coinfection

Publications (34)

2023 (4)

• Consensus recommendations on the management of hepatitis C in Australia's prisons.
  Winter RJ, Sheehan Y, Papaluca T, Macdonald GA, Rowland J, Colman A, Stoové M, Lloyd AR, Thompson AJ
  Med J Aust. 2023 Mar; Epub ahead of print
• Prospective study of retention in opioid agonist treatment and contact with emergency healthcare following release from prisons in Victoria, Australia.
  Curtis M, Wilkinson AL, Dietze P, Stewart AC, Kinner SA, Cossar RD, Nehme E, Aitken C, Walker S, Butler T, Winter RJ, Smith K, Stoové M
  Emerg Med J. 2023 Feb; Epub ahead of print
• Discontinuation of opioid agonist treatment following release from prison in a cohort of men who injected drugs prior to imprisonment in Victoria, Australia: A discrete-time survival analysis.
  Curtis M, Dietze P, Wilkinson AL, Agius PA, Stewart AC, Cossar RD, Butler T, Walker S, Kirwan A, Winter RJ, Stoové M
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023 Jan; 242:109730
• Non-fatal opioid overdose after release from prison among men who injected drugs prior to their imprisonment: a prospective data linkage study.
  Curtis M, Dietze P, Winter RJ, Rathnayake K, Smith K, Stoové M
  Med J Aust. 2023 Jan; 218(3):94-95

2022 (5)

• Reflections on the in-prison recruitment and participation of men with a history of injecting drug use, in a longitudinal cohort study in Australia.
  Walker S, Curtis M, Woods E, Pierce L, Kirwan A, Stewart AC, Cossar R, Winter R, Dietze P, Kinner SA, Ogloff JRP, Butler T, Stoové M
  J Criminol. 2022 Sep; 55(4):586-603
• Care Navigation Increases Initiation of Hepatitis C Treatment After Release From Prison in a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial: The C-LINK Study.
  Papaluca T, Craigie A, McDonald L, Edwards A, Winter R, Hoang A, Pappas A, Waldron A, McCoy K, Stoové M, Doyle J, Hellard M, Holmes J, MacIsaac M, Desmond P, Iser D, Thompson AJ
  Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Aug; 9(8):ofac350
• High rates of resumption of injecting drug use following release from prison among men who injected drugs before imprisonment.
  Curtis M, Winter RJ, Dietze P, Wilkinson AL, Cossar RD, Stewart AC, Agius PA, Butler T, Aitken C, Kirwan A, Walker S, Stoové M
  Addiction. 2022 Jun; 117(11):2887-2898
• The Importance of Prisons in Achieving Hepatitis C Elimination: Insights from the Australian Experience.
  Winter RJ, Holmes JA, Papaluca TJ, Thompson AJ
  Viruses. 2022 Feb; 14(3):497
• The feasibility of a drug consumption room in the Australian Capital Territory.
  Kirwan A, Winter R, Gunn J, Djordjevic F, Curtis M, Gough C, Dietze PM
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2022 Jan; 41(6):1440-1443

2021 (7)

• Strategies to maximise study retention and limit attrition bias in a prospective cohort study of men reporting a history of injecting drug use released from prison: the prison and transition health study.
  Stewart AC, Cossar R, Walker S, Wilkinson AL, Quinn B, Dietze P, Winter R, Kirwan A, Curtis M, Ogloff JRP, Kinner S, Aitken C, Butler T, Woods E, Stoové M
  BMC Med Res Methodol. 2021 Sep; 21(1):185
• The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) cohort study: Prevalence of health, social, and crime characteristics after release from prison for men reporting a history of injecting drug use in Victoria, Australia.
  Stewart AC, Cossar RD, Wilkinson AL, Quinn B, Dietze P, Walker S, Butler T, Curtis M, Aitken C, Kirwan A, Winter R, Ogloff J, Kinner S, Stoové M
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Aug; 227:108970
• Routine testing for syphilis and other bacterial sexually transmissible infections is required among people in prison.
  Harney B, Doyle J, Hellard M, Stoové M, Winter R
  Sex Transm Dis. 2021 Aug; 48(10):e153
• A costing analysis of a state-wide, nurse-led hepatitis C treatment model in prison.
  Palmer A, Papaluca T, Stoové M, Winter R, Pedrana A, Hellard M, Wilson D, Thompson A, Scott N; EC Victoria Partnership.
  Int J Drug Policy. 2021 Mar; 94:103203
• Integrating episodes of imprisonment and the cascade of care for opioid use disorder.
  Cossar R, Stewart A, Winter R, Curtis M, Dietze P, Ogloff JRP, Stoové M
  Addiction. 2021 Feb; 116(2):427-428
• Micro-elimination of hepatitis C among people with HIV coinfection: declining incidence and prevalence accompanying a multi-center treatment scale-up trial.
  Doyle JS, van Santen DK, Iser D, Sasadeusz J, O'Reilly M, Harney B, Traeger MW, Roney J, Cutts JC, Bowring AL, Winter R, Medland N, Fairley CK, Moore R, Tee B, Asselin J, El-Hayek C, Hoy JF, Matthews GV, Prins M, Stoové MA, Hellard ME
  Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Jan; 73(7):e2164–e2172
• Initiation of medications for opioid use disorder shortly before release from prison to promote treatment retention: Strong evidence but compromised policy.
  Curtis M, Larney S, Higgs P, Cossar RD, Winter RJ, Stewart AC, Stoové M
  J Addict Med. 2021 Jan; 15(6):525-526

2019 (3)

• Hepatitis C risk perceptions and attitudes towards reinfection among HIV-diagnosed gay and bisexual men in Melbourne, Australia.
  Schroeder SE, Higgs P, Winter R, Brown G, Pedrana A, Hellard M, Doyle J, Stoové M
  J Int AIDS Soc. 2019 May; 22(5):e25288
• Injecting drug use is an independent risk factor for reincarceration after release from prison: A prospective cohort study.
  Winter RJ, Stoové M, Agius PA, Hellard ME, Kinner SA
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2019 Mar; 38(3):254-263
• Outcomes of treatment for hepatitis C in prisoners using a nurse-led, state-wide model of care.
  Papaluca T, McDonald L, Craigie A, Gibson A, Desmond P, Wong D, Winter R, Scott N, Howell J, Doyle J, Pedrana A, Lloyd A, Stoové M, Hellard M, Iser D, Thompson A
  J Hepatol. 2019 Jan; 70(5):839-846

2018 (1)

• Drug Use in Prisoners and Hepatitis (Book Chapter)
  Winter RJ, Hellard ME
  "in ""Drug Use in Prisoners: Epidemiology, Implications, and Policy Responses"" Eds Stuart A, Kinner and Josiah D. Jody Rich ". 2018 Feb; Chapter 9

2016 (2)

• A nurse-led intervention improved blood-borne virus testing and vaccination in Victorian prisons.
  Winter RJ, White B, Kinner SA, Stoové M, Guy R, Hellard ME
  Aust N Z J Public Health. 2016 Oct; 40(6):592-594
• Resumption of injecting drug use following release from prison in Australia.
  Winter RJ, Young JT, Stoové M, Agius PA, Hellard ME, Kinner SA
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016 Sep; 168:104-111

2015 (3)

• A longitudinal study of health outcomes for people released from prison in Fiji: the HIP-Fiji project.
  Kinner SA, Winter R, Saxton K
  Australas Psychiatry. 2015 Dec; 23(6 Suppl):17-21
• Correlates of property crime in a cohort of recently released prisoners with a history of injecting drug use.
  Kirwan A, Quinn B, Winter R, Kinner SA, Dietze P, Stoové M
  Harm Reduct J. 2015 Aug; 12(1):23
• Incidence and predictors of non-fatal drug overdose after release from prison among people who inject drugs in Queensland, Australia.
  Winter RJ, Stoové M, Degenhardt L, Hellard ME, Spelman T, Jenkinson R, McCarthy DR, Kinner SA
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015 Jun; 153:43-49

2013 (4)

• Non-fatal overdose among adult prisoners with a history of injecting drug use in two Australian states.
  Moore E, Winter R, Indig D, Greenberg D, Kinner SA
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013 Nov; 133(1):45-51
• Health in Prisoners in Fiji. Research report prepared by the Burnet Institute and Empower Pacific.
  Winter R, Saxton K, Kinner S
  Report prepared for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) HIV Response Fund.. 2013 Sep
• Authenticity and diversity: enhancing Australian hepatitis C prevention messages.
  Winter RJ, Fraser S, Booker N, Treloar C
  Contemp Drug Problems. 2013 Jul; 40(4):505-529
• Hepatitis B virus exposure and vaccination in a cohort of people who inject drugs: What has been the impact of targeted free vaccination?
  Winter RJ, Dietze PM, Gouillou M, Hellard ME, Robinson P, Aitken CK
  J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013 Jan; 28(2):314-322

2012 (1)

• Mobile safe injecting facilities in Barcelona and Berlin.
  Dietze P, Winter R, Pedrana A, Leicht A, Majó I Roca X, Brugal MT.
  Int J Drug Policy. 2012 Mar; 23(4):257-260

2011 (1)

• Technical review of hepatitis C health promotion resources.
  Winter R, Fraser S, Booker N, Treloar C
  National Centre for HIV Social Research Monograph. 2011 May

2010 (1)

• An evaluation of a heroin overdose prevention and education campaign.
  Horyniak D, Higgs P, Lewis J, Winter R, Dietze P, Aitken C
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2010 Jan; 29(1):5-11

2008 (2)

• Consecutive infections and clearances of different hepatitis C virus genotypes in an injecting drug user.
  Aitken CK, Tracy SL, Revill P, Bharadwaj M, Bowden DS, Winter RJ, Hellard ME
  J Clin Virol. 2008 Apr; 41(4):293-296
• Integrating enhanced hepatitis C testing and counselling in research.
  Winter R, Nguyen O, Higgs P, Armstrong S, Duong D, Thach ML, Aitken C, Hellard M
  Int J Drug Policy. 2008 Feb; 19(1):66-70

News Articles (3)

2022 (1)

• Burnet congratulates Jim and Margaret Beever Fellow and travel award recipients

2016 (1)

• Travel award winners on the move

2013 (1)

• HIV and STI education needed to improve prisoner health in Fiji