Speakers
Burnet Institute
Associate Professor Peter Higgs is a Principal Research Fellow at the Burnet Institute. With a background in social work, he combines his experience in community development with methods from applied anthropology and field epidemiology in his collaborative research. Enduring relationships with cohorts of people using drugs have been fostered by flagship projects including the Networks study, SuperMIX and MIX/MAX. Previous academic roles at the Kirby Institute, the National Drug Research Institute and the Department of Public Health at La Trobe University mean he has been fortunate to work with and learn from leading researchers across the sector. A/Prof Higgs has strong community health and human service connections and a genuine commitment to improving the health of people who use drugs, recognised with Hepatitis Victoria’s Individual Contribution Recognition Award (2017). He has an editorial role on the Drug and Alcohol Review and is currently the Treasurer with Harm Reduction Victoria.
As a Māori health researcher I have strong ties to my iwi, Ngāti Hauiti and Ātihaunui a Pāpārangi. Just over twenty years ago I completed a PhD and a Postdoctoral Fellowship with Te Pūmanawa Hauora, the Research Centre for Māori Health and Development, Massey University. I believe research can and should actively improve health outcomes for Māori and others in Aotearoa. With this belief, and knowledge gained from studying, I established Whakauae Research for Māori Health and Development, a tribally owned Māori health research centre in Aotearoa. My research interests for the last twenty years have focused on tobacco control within a broader context of public policy, equity and health service delivery and intervention.
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
Professor Nadine Ezard is an Addiction Medicine Specialist (MBBS, BA, MPH, PhD, FAChAM) and a founding Fellow of the Australian Chapter of Addiction Medicine. Nadine has been the Clinical Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney since 2012, and the inaugural Director of the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) since 2018. Nadine has more than 30 years of clinical and research experience in addiction medicine and public health practice in Australian and international contexts, working for WHO, UNHCR, and UNODC. She is an internationally recognised researcher in substance use and its translation into consumer-focused harm-reduction public health interventions, models of care and policy for vulnerable populations. Her current research focusses on working with people who use stimulants and related drugs to develop new and effective interventions.
Dr. Jürgen Rehm is Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH. He is Professor and was the Inaugural Chair of Addiction Policy in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and he also holds other professorships and positions in Canada, Germany and Spain.
Dr. Rehm has been a leader in generating and analyzing the scientific data needed to inform clinicians and policy-makers of strategies to reduce alcohol-, tobacco-, and other drug-attributable harm. His recent research has increasingly included interactions between socio-economic status, poverty and substance use, including analysis of policies and interventions with respect to reducing or increasing inequalities.
His work has been awarded with numerous awards and prizes, most importantly, the Jellinek Memorial Award (2003), the European Addiction Research Award (2017) and the (Inaugural) Kettil Bruun Society Award for Advancement of International Research Collaboration (2021).
Directions Health Services
Stephanie Tzanetis is the CanTEST Program Coordinator at Directions Health Services and is the Executive Officer for Harm Reduction Australia’s Pill Testing Australia. With extensive experience in harm reduction services, she is consumer representative for the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) advisory group and prompt response network. Her lived experience expertise provides critical insights into the challenges posed by emerging novel psychoactive substances.
Steph has experience volunteering with drug checking services in British Columbia and other festival-based harm reduction services in Portugal and North America, and in several Australian jurisdictions. She has qualifications in Law and Addictive Behaviours.
Health Promotion and DOPE Coordinator, Harm reduction Victoria
Jane has been working with people who use drugs in various front line roles for more than twenty years. She currently coordinates the health promotion team at Harm Reduction Victoria. She has a seat on the board of AIVL, the peak body for drug user organisations in Australia and INPUD, the International Network of People Who Use Drugs. With more than thirty five years lived experience she passionate about the health and human rights of people who use drugs and is a strong advocate against stigma and discrimination toward her community. She is a huge dog lover who also happens to be dependent on cheesy reality television and heroin.
Host and Executive Producer, Crackdown Podcast
Garth Mullins is the host and executive producer of the Crackdown Podcast. He’s an organizer with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the Drug User Liberation Front. Garth is also a trade union activist and musician.
Background image credit: VisitCanberra
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