Dr Lynda Berends, BEd, BSc(Hons), PhD, GradCertHE
Senior Research Fellow, Health Services Research

Dr Lynda Berends leads the Health Services Research and Evaluation program at Turning Point. She has qualifications in psychology, education and health economics, with substantial experience across applied research and education. Lynda’s work includes process, impact and outcome evaluations of state initiatives in health and justice, the review of research centres of excellence, the examination of initiatives working across different systems, and investigations informing the development of service delivery models. Lynda is particularly interested in barriers to treatment access, service user perspectives on treatment, and the interface between care systems.

Topics of interest:
· Program and systems evaluation
· Qualitative research
· The interface between care systems
· Service user perspectives on treatment
· Linking research and practice

Kieran Connolly, CertIVAssess&WorkplaceTraining, HND, GradDipTrain&Dev, MA(PrimHlthCare)
Program Leader, Training and Information, Tertiary Programs

Kieran Connolly is the Program Manager for Training and Information Resources at Turning Point. He is committed to the ongoing development of clinical skills within the alcohol and other drug (AOD) sector and allied fields. He has contributed to skills enhancement in these fields since 1990 and maintains an interest in broader workforce development issues that impact on the capacity of workers to provide improved interventions. Kieran has presented at a number of national and international conferences on these issues.

Topics of interest:
· Workforce development issues in the AOD area

Anthony Denham, BA(Hons)
Research Development Manager

Anthony has been at Turning Point since 2002. In his role as Research Development Manager he oversees the operational and administrative aspects of Turning Point’s research programs. Key areas of activity include broadening funding opportunities; raising Turning Point’s research profile; streamlining internal communication, processes and procedures; fostering internal and external collaborations; and assisting in the alignment of the research agenda to strategic plans.  Prior to this role, Anthony was the Marketing and Communications Manager for the organisation. He has also run his own consulting business and worked in a management role for Oxford University Press.

Topics of interest:
· Emerging AOD issues
· Sourcing funding for research
· Research project management and administration
· Dissemination of research and its translation to practice
· Use of new technologies

Melissa Elliot, BA
Clinic Practice Manager

Melissa is currently responsible for the day-to-day management of program support services in Clinical Services.  Melissa has had over twenty years experience in the field of health in a large teaching hospital – Royal Perth Hospital. In the last 11 years she was directly involved in leading teams as the Outpatient and Admission Centre Coordinator and Senior Project Officer of Outpatient Reform. Prior to starting with Turning Point in 2008 Melissa was employed as a Policy Advisor with the Department of Human Services in the Service and Workforce Planning Division in the area of health workforce redesign.

Topics of interest:
· Policies and procedures
· Project management
· Staff recruitment

David Finn, BBus, FCPA, FCIS
Corporate Secretary

David Finn initially joined Turning Point as a consultant in 2003 and has since been appointed to staff as the Corporate Secretary. David leads the finance and information technology groups and is secretary to the Turning Point Board of Management. He has extensive commercial experience across the manufacturing and service industry sectors, with involvement in research, design and development, manufacturing and sales of Australian products for local and international markets.

Topics of interest:
· Financial and management accounting
· Contract negotiation and administration
· Business evaluation and investment strategies

Belinda Lloyd, BA(Hons), PhD (submitted)
Senior Research Fellow, Epidemiology and Surveillance

Belinda leads the Epidemiology and Surveillance Program at Turning Point. Belinda’s interests include the development of epidemiological studies of drug and alcohol use and related behaviours within and across different populations and subpopulations in order to enhance the evidence base for further research, treatment and support. Belinda has been involved in drug and alcohol research for nine years, and has worked in university and government environments in teaching and research capacities, utilising a range of research methods and data sources to explore patterns of drug use. She also has a background in mental health and longitudinal research.

Topics of interest:
· Pharmaceutical drug use
· Hidden populations, marginalisation and treatment/service access
· Gambling
· Mental health
· Longitudinal research

Professor Dan Lubman, BSc(Hons), MB ChB, PhD, FRANZCP, FAChAM
Director of Turning Point

Professor Dan Lubman has worked across mental health and drug treatment settings in both the UK and Australia. He is Director of Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Eastern Health and Professor of Addiction Studies and Services at Monash University. Dr Lubman’s research focuses on investigating substance use and comorbidity in youth. This includes a number of pharmacological and psychological treatment trials in psychosis and depression, as well as psychophysiological, neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies examining the neurobiology of addiction. A particular research interest is exploring the impact of substance use on adolescent brain development. Dr Lubman has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, and is Chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ Section of Addiction Psychiatry and an advisory board member of Addiction Neuroscience Network Australia, the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre, and the National Drug Research Institute.

Topics of interest:
· Adolescent brain development and substance use
· Comorbidity

Dr Suzanne Nielsen, BPharm, BPharmSc(Hons) PhD, MPS
Senior Research Fellow, Senior Pharmacist

Suzanne began work at Turning Point in 2002. Currently, she is working in a combined clinical and research role dividing her time between Clinical Services and Clinical Research at Turning Point. Suzanne has been lead investigator in a series of pharmaceutical misuse studies. Current studies involve investigating over the counter codeine misuse, and a study examining experiences of youth in treatment services. Suzanne is also the clinical trials pharmacist at Turning Point and Chair of the Pharmaceuticals working group for ADCA.

In 2008 Suzanne completed a PhD examining concurrent opioid and benzodiazepnie use and safety in opioid substitution treatment. 

Topics of interest:
· Pharmaceutical misuse
· Ccognitive effects of benzodiazepines and management of benzodiazepine dependence
· Smoking cessation in AOD treatment clients
· Contingency management

Tiffany M Reichert, PhD
Head of Psychosocial Services

Tiffany is a clinical psychologist, specialising in dual diagnosis treatment.  Tiffany has recently relocated to Australia from the United States where she worked as a clinician at the Matrix Institute in Los Angeles, known for evidence based methamphetamine treatment.  In this capacity she acted as a workshop facilitator training professionals in the Matrix model.  She also has vast experience working in the community mental health sector providing both clinical services plus supervision and training for all levels of psychology trainees.

Topics of interest:
· Co-occurring disorders
· Behavioural addiction
· Clinical supervision and training

Professor Robin Room, BA, MA, MSoc, PhD(Soc)
Director, AER Centre For Alcohol Policy Research

In March 2006, Professor Robin Room became Professor of Alcohol Policy Research at the School of Population Health, University of Melbourne and the Director of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at Turning Point. Professor Room received his higher education in the U.S., with a PhD in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and has worked in alcohol and drug policy for 30 years. Prior to his current position, Professor Room was the founding director of the Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs at Stockholm University.

Topics of interest:
· Alcohol and drug policy
· Social, cultural and epidemiological studies of alcohol, drugs and gambling behaviour
· Social responses to alcohol and drug problems