Concurrent Session 4A: Harm Reduction, Overdose & Drug Use Practices
Tracks
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| Wednesday, November 11, 2026 |
| 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM |
Speaker
Mr Scott Withy
Manager
Cohealth
Mobilising Harm Reduction services to adapt to changing population
9:05 AM - 9:15 AMBiography
Dean Rogut is a Cluster lead for two harm reduction fixed sites in Melbourne that provide a range of health interventions. Dean has a background in nursing, and health management over 25 years across both youth and adult services.
Ms Bianca Whiteside
Researcher
Deakin University/Burnet Institute
Beyond health outcomes: Public amenity and the Melbourne medically supervised injecting room
9:15 AM - 9:25 AMBiography
Bianca is a final year PhD candidate at Deakin University and Burnet Institute. Her research examines neighbourhood amenity surrounding Melbourne's supervised injecting facility, exploring how these services operate within shared urban environments.
Miss Grace Oh
Director
Australian Drug Education & Consultancy
Innovative Harm Reduction: Disrupting the Homelessness Merry-Go-Round - Transitional Housing with Integrated Drug and Alcohol Treatment
9:25 AM - 9:35 AMBiography
Grace Oh, AOD harm reductionist, is known for her optimism and commitment to advocacy and advancing equitable, person-centred initiatives across drug checking, naloxone, peer education, and treatment for people facing recurring homelessness. She is a Director of Australian Drug Education & Consultancy and WA APSAD Council representative.
A/Prof Daniel Demant
Associate Professor in Social Epidemiology
Discipline of Public Health, University Of Technology Sydney
Understanding chemsex beyond risk: Psychosocial correlates and substance use patterns in Australia
9:35 AM - 9:45 AMBiography
Daniel Demant is an Associate Professor of social epidemiology with a focuses substance use and sexual wellbeing, particularly in LGBTQ+ populations. His work aims at exploring the psychosocial and contextual drivers of risk and harm and the relationship between substance use and sexual wellbeing.
Dr Jodie Grigg
Research Fellow
National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
Patterns of polysubstance use during stimulant consumption sessions and self-reported non-fatal overdose events among people who regularly use ecstasy and other illicit stimulants in Australia
9:45 AM - 9:55 AMBiography
Jodie is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at NDRI where she is the long-standing coordinator of the Perth arm of the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS). She has a strong interest in monitoring polysubstance use trends, drug-related harms, and harm reduction, particularly in music and event settings.
Dr Courtney Weber
Data Manager For The Emerging Drugs Network Of Australia
Royal Perth Hospital
3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) concentrations in Emergency Department presentations enrolled in the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia
9:55 AM - 10:05 AMBiography
Courtney Weber is the Data Manager for the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia. Her interests are novel psychoactive substances and epidemiological methods.
Dr Hayden Green
GP and Addiction Medicine Trainee
cohealth
Dr Louisa Picco
Senior Research Fellow
Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University
Changes in naloxone attitudes and provision over the past decade: Findings from the National Drug Strategy Household Surveys and national community pharmacy surveys
10:10 AM - 10:15 AMBiography
Dr Louisa Picco is an NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow and the Drug Policy and Harm Reduction Program Lead at the Monash Addiction Research Centre. Her work adopts a multifaceted approach to explore the implementation and impact of opioid policies and harm reduction strategies.
Dr Kirrilly Thompson
Senior Research Fellow
NCETA
Barriers and enablers to take-home naloxone access in Australia: A scoping review
10:15 AM - 10:20 AMBiography
Clinical pharmacy postdoctoral research fellow with expertise in medication use, cardiac rehabilitation, pharmacotherapy, and adherence. Holds a PhD in Clinical Pharmacy and has over 10 years’ experience across research, academia, and pharmacy practice in Australia and Ethiopia, with more than 25 peer-reviewed publications and multidisciplinary collaborations.
