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Associate Professor Suzanne Nielsen

Honorary Principal Fellow
Background

Associate Professor Suzanne Nielsen (BPharm BPharmSc[Hons] PhD MPS) is the Deputy Director of the Monash Addiction Research Centre (Monash University), and an NHMRC Career Development Fellow. She has published extensively in the drug and alcohol field. Her research has led to a greater understanding of how to identify and respond to prescription and over-the-counter drug-related problems, how to reduce opioid-related harms, and summarised the evidence base on the therapeutic uses of cannabinoids.

She has informed legislative change in Australia to reduce pharmaceutical drug harm (e.g. rescheduling of codeine and alprazolam), studied overdose prevention with naloxone in primary care settings, and informed clinical guidelines on the use of opioid agonist treatment for prescribed opioids dependence. Her current research focuses on understanding how to improve identification of prescribed opioid use disorder, and address opioid-related overdose risk.

Qualifications
  • 2008: PhD. Monash University, Pharmacy
  • 2003: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours), Monash University
  • 1997: Bachelor of Pharmacy, Monash University
Appointments
  • 2019 – Present: Honorary Principal Fellow, Burnet Institute
  • 2018 – Present: Honorary Professor, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre
  • 2018 – Present: Conjoint Senior Research Fellow, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
  • 2010 – Present: Drug and Alcohol Review, Senior Editor
  • 2015 – Present: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, Editorial Board Member
  • 2017 – Present: Therapeutic Goods Administration Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling (ACMS) Member
  • 2008 – Present: Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA)
  • 2011 – Present: Member of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD)
  • 2012 – Present: Member of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
Awards
  • 2012 – 2018: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Forum Travel Award
  • 2016: Ian Webster Award for Research Excellence, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW
  • 2014: Dean's Rising Star Award, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales November
  • July 2013 – June 2014: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Editorial Fellowship
  • 2011: NHMRC Australian Clinical Research Training Fellowship
  • November 2011: Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD) Early Career Researcher Award
  • June 2011: College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Early Career Investigator Award
  • 2010: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) INVEST Clinical Trials Network Fellow
  • 2007: Ian Potter Foundation Travel Grant
  • November 2006: Margaret Hamilton Travelling Scholarship
  • 2006: Kings College – Monash University Travelling Scholarship
  • 2004 – 2008: Scholarship – Cyril Tonkin PhD Scholarship
Positions
  • 2018: Associate Professor (Research), Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre and NHMRC Population Health Career Development Fellow, Level 2 (2019-2022)
  • 2017-2018: NHMRC Translating Research Into Practice Fellow, UNSW
  • 2012-2016: NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow, UNSW and University of Sydney