National Addiction Centre

Doug graduated MBChB from the University of Otago in 1980 and then completed postgraduate training in psychiatry in Christchurch, New Zealand, gaining his FRANZCP in 1987. He was appointed as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Christchurch School of Medicine in 1991 and research subsequently led to the completion of a PhD under the supervision of Professor Peter Joyce on the topic of "Alcoholic Relapse", in 1997. He was promoted to a Personal Chair in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine in 2005 and was a foundation member of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine in 2002.

He took a leading role in the successful tendering for the National Addiction Centre (formerly known as the National Centre for Treatment Development (Alcohol, Drugs & Addiction) and has been Director of the Centre from its outset in 1996.

Collaborating with colleagues and supervising research students, he is currently involved in a full range of alcohol, drug and addiction related projects.

Doug has been active in the development of alcohol and drug teaching at the Christchurch School of Medicine & Health Sciences over the past fifteen years. He developed a two-week inter-departmental block course for fifth-year medical students which has been running since 1995. He has also been instrumental in the development of a Postgraduate Diploma in Addiction & Co-existing Disorders through the University of Otago, which is now available nationally to a multidisciplinary group of students.

His clinical work since graduation as a psychiatrist in 1987 has been in the alcohol and drug area, and since 1994 he has been consultant to the alcohol and drug stream of the Youth Specialty Service in Christchurch, a specialist mental health service for people aged 13-18 years.

He is an enthusiastic member of the Harewood Golf Course in Christchurch and an active opponent of dieting, gym attendance and declaring war on anything.

Fraser graduated from the University of Otago in 1985, undertook training in psychiatry in London and Christchurch and gained his FRANZCP in 1997. He has been employed in the position of Senior Lecturer in the NAC at the Christchurch School of Medicine & Health Sciences since March 1997 and he works as a consultant psychiatrist at Youth Specialty Services, Hillmorton Hospital.

His areas of special interest include cannabis and coexisting substance use and mental health problems. He headed the development of guidelines for the "Assessment and Management of People with Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders" undertaken at the NAC, and is involved in research into the effects of alcohol and cannabis use on the presentation and outcome of people admitted with a first episode of psychosis.

Fraser is also involved in a range of teaching activities. He is coordinating PSMX 404 "Assessment of Addiction and Co-existing Disorders" and also has involvement with the other postgraduate papers offered by the NAC.

Daryle has been on the academic staff of the NAC since 1997. She is a registered nurse and has worked extensively in the alcohol and drug and youth and family mental health areas since 1980 as a clinician and a manager. Her particular interests have been in therapeutic practice and collaborative service development. She has a long-standing interest in promoting nursing within the alcohol and drug treatment field with a particular focus on advanced practice and, more broadly, nurses competencies in working with people with alcohol and drug problems/disorders and co-existing disorders in a range of settings. Between 2000 and August 2007 her joint clinical position was Director of Mental Health Nursing Practice for the Canterbury Area Health Board. Her current clinical component involves working with participants in the Treatment of Alcohol and Mood (TEAM) study.

Daryle received her PhD from the University of Otago in 2007 for a dissertation titled "Methadone Maintenance Treatment in New Zealand". Her Master of Health Sciences degree was award in 1997 with distinction. Her thesis was titled "Opioid Dependence, Methadone Treatment and the Measurement of In-Treatment Outcome".

She was a project co-ordinator, together with Terry Huriwai, for the development of ALAC commissioned Guidelines for Alcohol and Drug Agency Clinical Process Self-evaluation. Her current research activity includes:

Daryle is the course co-ordinator for PSMX 422 "Treatment of Addiction and Co-existing Disorders", with a focus on clinical case-management and therapeutic working with clients and significant others. In addition, she has input into a number of other National Addiction Centre papers with a focus on co-existing disorders.

Dr Simon Adamson (Senior Lecturer, Deputy Director Research) PhD, DipClinPsyc, MNZCCP, DAPAANZ (Competent Practitioner)

Simon received his PhD from the University of Otago in 2004 for a dissertation titled "Clinical Predictors of Treatment Outcome for Alcohol Use Disorders" and also graduated with Distinction from the University of Canterbury in 1997, having completed a Masters Thesis entitled "Drug Use and Crime in a Christchurch Sample of Opioid Dependent Drug Users". He currently works as a Senior Clinical Psychologist at the Christchurch Methadone Programme and has worked within the Community Alcohol and Drug Services since 1996. Simon was appointed to the National Addiction Centre as Lecturer in May 1997.

Simon's teaching responsibilities include coordination of PSMX 416 "Applied Theory of Addiction and Co-existing Disorders".

Simon is the father of three boys. He enjoys tramping, the occasional mountain bike ride, reading and music. A daily pleasure is cycling to work.

Ria has been working at the NAC as a Research Fellow since 2004. Previous to this she was a student and Teaching Fellow in the School of Education at the University of Canterbury where she completed her PhD entitled "From 'I Had a Big Grin on My Face' to I'd Rather Be Eating McDonalds': Recognising the Diversity and Complexity of Teenage Girls' Experiences of Sexual Intercourse" in 2004.

Since working at the National Addiction Centre Ria has been involved in a number of research projects investigating ways of improving AOD treatment services for youth. These include the Youth Treatment Retention Study (YTRS) which examined factors affecting retention in youth AOD treatment programmes. Current youth focussed studies include:

More recently Ria has developed an interest in addictive overeating and the role this may play in the current obesity epidemic. Current work in this area includes a qualitative study examining clinician and consumer perspectives of obesity and assisting in the development of a randomised controlled trial entitled "Abstinence vs Moderation Approaches to 'Problem Foods' in Obesity Treatment: The 'Problem Foods' Study".

Ria is also the current editor of the Addiction Treatment Research News (ATRN) a newsletter published three times a year by the Addiction Treatment Research Interest Group (ATRIG) and is co-editor of the Addiction Treatment Research Monograph (ATRM).

Outside of work, Ria enjoys spending time with friends and family and exploring the beach and forest with her beloved dog Sabina. Ria is also a keen cyclist, an occasional jogger and an avid fan of a good book.

Dr James Foulds (Clinical Senior Lecturer) MBChB FRANZCP

James graduated from the University of Otago in 1996 and completed specialist training in psychiatry in Melbourne in 2006. He worked as a Consultant Psychiatrist at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne where he was involved in treating inpatients and also as a Consultation Liaison Psychiatrist to the Victorian Statewide HIV/AIDS service. During his time in Victoria he was also employed by Turning Point, a major statewide clinical and research facility in addiction medicine.

James has been employed with the National Addiction Centre since early 2009. He also works as a Consultant Psychiatrist with the Psychiatric Emergency Service in Christchurch and as a visiting rural psychiatrist to the West Coast District Health Board. His areas of interest include alcohol use disorders and their interaction with other mental health conditions.

James is the convener of 4th year medical student teaching in addiction medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch. He is also involved with postgraduate teaching and research projects.

Contact: james.foulds@otago.ac.nz

Jeela Kumar (Assistant Research Fellow) MSc

Jeela graduated from the University of Canterbury in 2007 with an honours degree in Geography examining lay knowledge of diabetes. In 2009 she completed her Masters of Science degree in Health Geography with merit for her thesis entitled 'The Effect of the Neighbourhood Built Environment on Obesity in Christchurch' which examines the way that local neighbourhood environments influence obesity. She has also been involved in various projects with the GeoHealth Lab at the University of Canterbury examining the relationship between health and the environment.

Jeela joined the NAC in April 2010 as a research assistant involved in the Zonnic™ and Patch Smoking Cessation Study trialling a new form of nicotine replacement therapy.

Outside of work, Jeela enjoys socialising with friends, learning new languages, and is never too far away from a good book or two

Contact: anjeela.kumar@otago.ac.nz

Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin (PhD Student) MBChB (Otago), M. Psych Med (Malaya)

Amer graduated from Otago University in 2002 and later continued practicing and specialising in Malaysia. He has returned to New Zealand to continue his PhD studies in Addiction Psychiatry in the NAC. His study is related to mental health and nicotine dependence. He is also involved in the ZAP team for the ongoing Zonnic™ and Patch Smoking Cessation Study. He is hopeful that his work will one day be able to assist those affected to stop smoking and improve their overall health.

Since returning to Christchurch, he has returned to the sport of cycling and been badly affected by the cycling bug. He uses this to de-stress after a busy day at work helping people quit smoking and at the same time reading, reporting and analysing data for his project.

Contact: amer.nordin@otago.ac.nz

Lisa Andrews (Administrator/Secretary)

Lisa commenced administrative work at Sunnyside Hospital in 1987 and subsequently became the receptionist at Mahu Clinic, a multi-faceted alcohol and drug clinic which combined assessment, outpatient treatment, residential treatment and methadone treatment programmes. In 1993 she was offered a secretarial position in the Department of Psychological Medicine and in September 1996 was appointed secretary to the National Addiction Centre. Lisa's pivotal position means that she is involved in all activities and projects. In her spare time Lisa enjoys nothing better than finding a small cupboard or shoe box to hide in.

Contact: lisa.andrews@otago.ac.nz

Lindsay Atkins (Postgraduate Secretary)

Lindsay joined the National Addiction Centre staff in April 1999. As well as administering the postgraduate papers at the National Addiction Centre, she is the secretary/treasurer of the Addiction Treatment Research Interest Group (ATRIG). Lindsay recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in history and sociology from the University of Canterbury. When time permits, she loves to read (particularly history books) and spend time in her garden.

Contact: lindsay.atkins@otago.ac.nz

Sue Platts (Receptionist/Secretary)

Sue joined the NAC team initially as a temp in 2001 and subsequently took on a permanent role as the receptionist/secretary and part of the administrative support staff. She is the mother of a teenage son and a new baby daughter and is an enthusiastic photographer and particularly avid bird fancier, at one time caring for 35 birds. When the opportunity arises Sue also enjoys camping and fishing .

Contact: sue.platts@otago.ac.nz