To browse the biographies of our internationally recognised speakers and presenters, click on their names below. Each speaker will bring to the conference their unique perspective on the issues and research surrounding cannabis, and will ensure a stimulating and challenging conference for delegates.

Professor David M. Fergusson — New Zealand

For the last 30 years, Professor David Fergusson has been the Principal Investigator and Executive Director of the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS) which is an internationally renowned longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1,265 New Zealand children born in mid 1977. This cohort has now been studied from birth to age 30. His major research interests are the design and analysis of correlational studies and the study of personal adjustment in adolescence. He is also actively involved in the development and evaluation of the Christchurch based Early Start programme. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and an Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Psychological Society.

Dr Lisa Marsch — USA

Lisa Marsch, PhD is the Director of the Center for Technology and Health at National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI) in New York City, an interdisciplinary research and development group focused on the creative and systematic application of cutting-edge technologies to the health sciences and health care. Dr Marsch is a leader in research focused on developing and evaluating interactive, web-based interventions targeting substance abuse treatment for youth and adults, substance abuse prevention among youth, and HIV/disease prevention among youth and adults. She serves as a scientific peer reviewer for the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and as a Consultant to the World Health Organization.

Professor Alan Green — USA

Alan I. Green, M.D., Raymond Sobel Professor of Psychiatry, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School, joined the Harvard faculty in 1984 and was Director of the Commonwealth Research Center at Harvard Medical School from 1987 until 2002. Prof Green’s research program involves clinical and neurobiological studies of patients with schizophrenia, particularly those with co-occurring substance use disorders, medication development studies for patients with alcoholism, and studies of alcohol drinking animals. He and his colleagues have proposed a neurobiological model suggesting that co-occurring substance use disorder in patients with schizophrenia relates, at least in part, to deficiencies in dopamine-mediated brain reward circuits.

Dr Peter McKenna — Spain

Dr McKenna has worked as both a clinical and academic psychiatrist in the UK and is currently working in the research unit of Dr Edith Pomarol-Clotet of Benito Menni Hospital, Barcelona, Spain. This unit has interests in structural and functional imaging of psychosis, and also in the brain correlates of psychotic symptoms. Dr McKenna is also a principal investigator in CIBERSAM, the Spanish mental health research network. His main research interests are the clinical and neuropsychological features of schizophrenia. He has published over 100 research papers on these topics and is the author of two books on schizophrenia.

Dr Nadia Solowij — Australia

Now a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in the School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Dr Solowij spent 15 years at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, establishing her primary area of expertise on the long term cognitive effects of cannabis. She has used psychophysiological, neuropsychological and brain imaging techniques in her investigations and has over 70 scientific publications including her book Cannabis and Cognitive Functioning (Cambridge University Press). Her current research focuses on brain structure and memory function in adult and adolescent cannabis users and people with schizophrenia and comorbid cannabis use. She is an Affiliated Scientist of the Schizophrenia Research Institute.

Associate Professor Alison Ritter — Australia

Alison Ritter is an Associate Professor at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre and is the director of a major illicit drug policy research program, the Drug Policy Modelling Program. The program is being conducted in collaboration with scholars from The Australian National University and Griffith University. The goal of the work is to advance illicit drug policy through improving the evidence-base, developing new policy decision-making tools and understanding the best mix of policy options (law enforcement, prevention, treatment and harm reduction) and the ways in which these different policy options dynamically interact. A/Prof Ritter is Executive Editor of the Drug and Alcohol Review, President of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol & Drugs and Vice President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy.

Professor Simon Lenton — Australia

Simon Lenton is one of two Deputy Directors at the National Drug Research Institute, where he has worked since 1993. In addition, he works part time as a Clinical Psychologist in private practice. Over recent years he has headed a project investigating the regulation of cannabis possession, use and supply for a committee of the Victorian Parliament, a study of the feasibility of providing Narcan to heroin users as a way of preventing heroin overdose deaths, and a study of repeat drink drivers. Current projects include an evaluation of the changes to cannabis law which were introduced in WA as a result of the WA Community Drug Summit. He is a deputy editor of Drug and Alcohol Review and edits the ‘Harm Reduction Digest’ that appears in that journal.

Associate Professor Alan Clough — Australia

A/Prof Alan Clough is recognised in Australia for his significant contribution to research and practice in the challenging field of substance use problems in Indigenous communities. He brings to his work the unique perspective of having lived in and worked for remote communities in the Northern Territory’s ‘Top End’ for 20 years. Over the past two years he has developed similar relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities in far north Queensland. In the past five years, he has had 24 publications in refereed journals and has two currently under review. From 2005-2008 he held a NHMRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. He is developing a collaborating centre for prevention studies to address substance abuse and other public health problems in northern Australia and the Asia-Pacific.

Dr Wendy Swift — Australia

Dr Wendy Swift is employed as a Senior Lecturer at NDARC. She was awarded her doctorate in 1999 for her work on patterns and correlates of cannabis dependence. Since then she has examined cannabis dependence for the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, and she has been co-investigator on several clinical studies of interventions for adult and adolescent cannabis users. Her current work includes analyses of cannabis use in the Victorian Adolescent Cohort Study, cannabis potency and contamination, cannabis and driving, and the use of alcohol and medicines. Her research interests are cannabis use and dependence, the therapeutic potential of cannabis, comorbidity, the characteristics of the cannabis market, and substance use among older Australians.

Dr John Howard — Australia

Dr John Howard joined NDARC in 2008 as a Senior Lecturer and works with NCPIC, as well as NDARC's international research activities and those with a focus on young people. From 2001 until the end of 2007 he was Director – Clinical Services, Training and Research, Ted Noffs Foundation. He is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Hospital. His major clinical, teaching and research areas are: adolescent substance use and ‘street youth’ (in both developed and developing countries), comorbidity, depression and suicide in young people, working with marginalised youth, adolescent psychotherapy, same-sex attracted youth, HIV infection in adolescents, resilience, and treatment capacity-building.

Associate Professor Dan Lubman — Australia

A/Prof Dan Lubman heads the Substance Use Research and Recovery Focused (SURRF) Program at ORYGEN Research Centre, where he leads a clinical research team focused 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 neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies examining the neurobiology of addiction. A particular research interest is exploring the impact of substance use on adolescent brain development. A/Prof Lubman has published over 80 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, and is Chair of the RANZCP 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.

Professor Iain McGregor — Australia

Iain S. McGregor is ARC Professorial Fellow, Professor of Psychopharmacology and Director of the Psychopharmacology Laboratory at the University of Sydney. Iain completed his undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and his PhD in Psychology at the University of Sydney. Iain is one of Australia’s foremost researchers in the fields of psychopharmacology and neuroscience with more than 120 peer reviewed publications to his name. His research is currently funded by the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council and focuses on the effects of drugs such as ecstasy, cannabis, methamphetamine and antidepressants on brain and behaviour. This research encompasses studies in both human subjects and laboratory animals and spans behavioural, genetic and neural levels of analysis. Iain is a much sought after speaker and has given numerous invited keynote addresses and presentations around the world. He also lectures extensively to psychology undergraduates and trainee clinical psychologists. Iain recently received a NHMRC Achievement Award from the Health Minister Nicola Roxon for his outstanding contributions to biomedical research.

Professor David Kavanagh — Australia

David Kavanagh was educated at Sydney and Stanford Universities. He has held senior academic posts at the Universities of Sydney and Queensland, and currently holds a Research Chair in the Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation and School of Psychology & Counselling at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. Particular themes of his recent research have been the study of craving, the management of comorbidity and the development of brief and accessible treatments for mental and substance use disorders. He is currently the co-chair of the Queensland Health Collaborative on Alcohol and Other Drugs and has been on several state and Commonwealth expert committees. Professor Kavanagh has an extensive grant record. He currently has over 150 publications, and has over 1600 citations to his work.