The APSAD Awards were presented at the 41st APSAD Darwin Conference by President Professor Leanne Hides. The 2022 APSAD Awards for Excellence in Science, Research and Practice were presented throughout the three-day conference program with the eight APSAD Award recipients being recognised for having made an outstanding contribution to reducing the harms associated with alcohol and other drug use in Australasia.
2022 APSAD AWARD RECIPIENTS
 Benjamin Riordan;
Robynn Williams
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 Michael Livingston, Leanne Hides;
Kylie Lee and Victoria Cock
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 Mary Harrod (NUAA) & Leanne Hides |
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Senior Scientist Award Professor Wayne Hall
Mid Career Award Dr Michael Livingston
Early Career Award Dr Benjamin Riordan
Benjamin Riordan is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR). Prior to moving to CAPR, he was a post doctoral researcher in Addiction Medicine at the University of Sydney (where he is still an affiliate; 2019-ongoing), he was a Fulbright Fellow at Brown University (2017-2018; Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies) and completed his PhD at the University of Otago (2019; Department of Psychology). His research interests are broad, but predominantly he focuses on using emerging and new technologies to understand and intervene with young adults who use alcohol. He is currently working on two projects that aim to measure the impact of alcohol outlet density on domestic and non-domestic assault, funded by the independent liquor and gaming authority to inform licencing decisions and policy. He is also working on a funded VESKI grant measuring the prevalence of alcohol and alcohol marketing on Instagram in Australia and Israel.
Mentor Award Dr Kylie Lee
Kylie is deputy director of Indigenous Health and Substance Use in Addiction Medicine, at the University of Sydney and visiting research fellow, at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (La Trobe University). Her highly original research in alcohol and other drug use is led by community or health service requests. Kylie and her team have pioneered translational research approaches. She is the lead editor of a clinical textbook requested by Indigenous AOD workers nationally and has been invited to assist Inuit and Sri Lankan communities in knowledge translation. Her work has won national recognition including a 2011 Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Award for a film on problem drinking. Kylie has played a central role in supporting Aboriginal post-graduate research students, trainees and research assistants through the Centre of Research Excellence in Indigenous Health and Alcohol. Kylie’s mentoring is founded on respect and two-way learning. Her generosity, care and dedication is deeply appreciated by those she mentors. And her love of research – and of fine cooking- is infectious.
First Peoples Award Dr Robyn Williams
Dr Robyn Williams is an Aboriginal (Noongar) woman, early career researcher and long-term advocate dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with FASD and their families. Dr Williams has extensive research, practice and policy experience. Her PhD thesis focused on understanding the experiences and needs of Aboriginal families supporting individuals with FASD. This is the largest study to date in Australia involving 180 Aboriginal people in Western Australia and provided vital knowledge regarding culturally responsive FASD-informed care for Aboriginal people. Dr Williams was awarded a Chancellors commendation for excellence for her PhD studies. Dr Williams is passionate about increasing access to culturally appropriate, community-based FASD-informed care. She is currently leading the development of a National Aboriginal FASD train-the-trainer curriculum that will be able to be delivered across multiple sectors, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, AOD, mental health and child protection.
Clinician Award Dr Victoria Cock
Dr Victoria Cock is the Clinical Director of Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia. Victoria has been a doctor for over 20 years having graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1998. The first decade of her career was spent working as a Family Physician in marginalised peri-urban communities in South Africa. It was during this time that she developed a great interest in the management of HIV in these marginalised communities and became a clinical lead in the rollout of anti-retroviral treatment on a large scale in South Africa in the early 2000s amidst much political turmoil. Victoria emigrated to Australia with her husband and 2 sons in 2008. It was here that she embarked on physician training through the RACP and undertook advanced training in Addiction Medicine. She obtained her fellowship in 2015 and has been working as an Addiction Medicine Specialist Physician with Drug and Alcohol Services of South Australia (DASSA) since.
Advocacy Award NSW Users and AIDS Association
The NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA) is a peer-based drug user organisation that is governed, staffed and led by people with lived experience of drug use. Their vision statement is “Advancing the rights, health and dignity of people who use drugs illicitly in NSW”. They are funded by NSW Health for service delivery with a focus on harm reduction and community empowerment. Our flagship programs include our peer-led NSP, Users News, peer education and support, stigma and discrimination training for health care professionals and DanceWize NSW. NUAA strives to improve our advocacy for, and services supporting, the diversity of people impacted by stigma and discrimination caused by the criminalisation of drug use across NSW. We work with a broad range of stakeholders and partners to support improved service delivery and system change. https://nuaa.org.au/our-vision