2026 MARC Emerging Researcher Symposium

The 2026 MARC Emerging Researcher Symposium, held on 14 May 2026 at Turning Point in Richmond, brought together early‑career researchers, PhD students, and senior academics for an afternoon of engaging presentations, discussion, and networking.

The event opened with a Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country from MARC Deputy Director, Professor Suzanne Nielsen. Professor Nielsen also launched the MARC 2025 Annual Report, celebrating an incredibly productive year of addiction research at MARC. This was followed by a keynote from NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Dr Louisa Picco, who shared her pathway through academia to date and the challenges and opportunities facing emerging researchers.

Session Highlights

Policy, Population Trends & Drug Harm

• Researchers presented new findings on opioid treatment access, naloxone initiatives, opioid mortality, cannabis‑related hospital admissions, and methamphetamine‑related service trajectories.

Optimising Medicines & Treatments

• Presentations explored deprescribing practices, non‑medical gabapentinoid use, psychedelic‑assisted therapies, ketamine and esketamine guidelines, and opioid agonist treatment reforms.

Alcohol, Gambling & Social Determinants of Health

• Topics included gambling harm inequities, alcohol‑related cognitive biases, unhealthy commodity ecosystems, controlled‑breathing interventions, and vaping trends among university students.

Panel Discussion & Awards

A panel on building a grant track record as an ECR, with panel members spanning professional staff, ECR and more senior academics, offered practical advice on funding pathways and research development.

The symposium concluded with awards recognising the most engaging presentations of the day.

ECR Dr Michael Curtis won the Session 1 Best Presenter award for his presentation "Exploring the impact of cheaper Opioid agonist treatment on coverage and retention among a cohort of people who inject drugs in Melbourne: Preliminary results".

PhD student Myfanwy Graham won the Session 2 Best Presenter award for her presentation “Psychedelics, ketamine or MDMA for mental health conditions access and outcomes: Australian longitudinal cohort study”.

PhD student Benjamin Davey won the Session 3 Best Presenter award for his presentation “What is the Extent and Role of Alcohol Related Cognitive Biases in a Large Australian Community Sample of People Drinking at Harmful Levels?”

The 2026 Symposium showcased the depth and breadth of research by ECRs and PhD students across MARC, highlighting the dedication, rigour, and collaboration driving emerging addiction-related research. We thank all presenters, session chairs, panel members, attendees, and contributors for making this year’s event a vibrant and engaging success, and we look forward to continuing to support and celebrate the work of early‑career researchers in the year ahead.

2026 MARC Emerging Researcher Symposium

This half-day symposium will showcase the work of early to mid-career researchers (levels A-C) and PhD students conducting addiction-based research from faculties across Monash. The symposium provides an opportunity for researchers to present current work, hear from invited speakers, and connect with colleagues working in addiction‑related research across disciplines. The program features invited speakers, oral presentations, and networking opportunities.

Symposium Program

Register to attend

Dates to remember

• Symposium registration close – 1 May 2026 (unless sold out prior)
• Symposium – Thursday, 14 May 2026

Location

The 2026 MARC Emerging Researcher Symposium will be held in person at Turning Point, located at 110 Church Street, Richmond, 3121.

If you have any queries, please email us at marc.info@monash.edu

2025 MARC Symposium: Wrap up

Thursday 22 May 2025 | Monash University, Caulfield Campus

We are thrilled to share that the 2025 MARC Symposium was another highly successful, sold-out event. The symposium brought together leading voices from across Monash University and the broader sector for a dynamic day of discussion and knowledge exchange focused on harms relating to alcohol, other drugs, and gambling.

The event began with an overview of the work of MARC followed by a keynote from Matt Craig (NSW Department of Health), who underscored the critical role of translating research into effective, real-world policy.

Overview of Sessions

• Session 1: Meeting the Needs of Key Populations explored diverse perspectives on supporting marginalised and underserved communities, including older adults and individuals engaged with the justice system.
• Session 2: Reducing Opioid Harm presented the latest evidence and innovative models for addressing opioid dependence and overdose, including real-world insights from the EPIC-MATOD trial, responding to high-potency opioids, emergency department interventions, and the impact of a lack of opioid dependence treatment access on health outcomes.
• Session 3: A Brave New World: New Trends and Technologies examined digital tools and novel treatments—ranging from medicinal cannabis and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to AI-driven public health monitoring and co-designed digital treatment and prevention interventions.

The subsequent panel discussion brought together high-level policymakers and sector leaders to reflect on how to embed evidence into everyday policy and systems. The conversation, moderated by MARC Advisory Board Chair Mietta Gibson, featured insights from Matt Craig (NSW Health), Kris Drew (Victorian Department of Health), and Phillipa Thomas (Mental Health Victoria).

Showcasing Research
Poster sessions featured ground-breaking work from early-career and senior researchers alike, highlighting emerging data on chronic pain management, overdose trends, and novel therapeutic approaches. A series of 1-minute presentations gave attendees a snapshot of this cutting-edge research.

Special Presentation
Associate Professor Shalini Arunogiri delivered an invited address on clinical trials at MARC, illustrating the full research pipeline from innovation to implementation.

Networking and Recognition
The day concluded with awards, networking, and refreshments—celebrating outstanding contributions and fostering future collaboration across sectors.

We were delighted to present Dr Monica Jung with the 2025 MARC PhD Publication award for her paper titled Opioid characteristics and nonopioid interventions associated with successful opioid taper in patients with chronic noncancer pain.

Dr Ryan Baldwin was the recipient of the 2025 MARC EMCR Publication award for his paper titled Differences in ambulance attendances between children with and without an identified history of out-of-home care.

Dr Ryan Baldwin was also the recipient of the ‘Best Poster’ award, for his poster titled ‘Does less drinking mean less harm? Examining alcohol-related ambulance attendances in young people’. This award was voted on by symposium attendees.

Richard Armour was the winner of our ‘Best Presentation from an Emerging Researcher’ award, for his presentation titled ‘Initiation of opioid agonist therapy using buprenorphine in the emergency department or emergency out of hospital setting: A mixed-methods systematic review’, again voted on by the symposium attendees.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all attendees, presenters, and contributors for making the 2025 MARC Symposium a vibrant and impactful gathering of knowledge, collaboration, and shared commitment to advancing evidence-based approaches in the alcohol and other drug sector.

2025 MARC Symposium

MARC are hosting a one-day symposium that will feature world-leading researchers from Monash University and the broader sector. The Symposium will be showcasing interdisciplinary collaborations and thought-provoking research and address harms relating to alcohol, other drugs and gambling in the context of three key themes:

1. Meeting the Needs of Key Populations
2. Reducing Opioid Harm
3. A Brave New World: New Trends and New Technologies

This year’s Keynote Speaker will be delivered by Matt Craig, Director, Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs, NSW Health, Matt will be translating research into policy.

Associate Professor Shalini Arunogiri, Monash University will be sharing Clinical Trials Research at MARC: from innovation to implementation.

The Symposium will showcase a diverse range of addiction research with a panel discussion, oral research presentations, a poster session, and networking session. The 2025 MARC Publication Prize winners will also be announced.

Event Details for 2025 MARC Symposium  

Become a MARC Member

If you are a Monash PhD Student or an employee at Monash, we invite you to become a MARC member, please complete the online form

If you have any queries regarding symposium abstracts, please email us at marc.info@monash.edu

2024 MARC Emerging Researcher Symposium

The inaugural MARC Emerging Researcher Symposium, held on Thursday, 2 May, was a well-attended and insightful event that showcased a diverse range of research topics in addiction. It offered a platform for emerging researchers to share their work, gain feedback, and foster professional connections within the addiction research community.

Prof Dan Lubman kicked off the symposium with a welcome address. This was followed by an inspiring keynote session with A/Prof Shalini Arunogiri, who shared her insights on the career paths of clinician-researchers.

The half-day symposium featured two main sessions of research presentations by early—and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) and PhD candidates and included an honours student 3-minute highlights mini-session. The symposium concluded with a panel discussion on publishing in academia, which was moderated by Dr Louisa Picco. Panelists included Prof Paul Dietze, Prof Suzanne Nielsen, and Dr Tina Lam , who shared valuable insights and advice on academic publishing.

Best Presentation Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the Best Presentation Awards! Throughout the afternoon, the audience voted for their favourite presentation. The winners received a certificate and prize.

Best PhD Presentation	Best EMCR Presentation
Richard Armour -“Performance of the Medical Priority Dispatch System in identifying patients requiring chest compressions at overdose prevention services: a retrospective cohort study”	Dr Tejashree Kangutkar - "Perceived Factors Affecting the Oral Health Care Experience of People Who Use Drugs and Potential Strategies for Addressing These Barriers”

The inaugural MARC ER Symposium was an overwhelming success, and we look forward to the next MARC Emerging Researcher Symposium, which will be held in 2026. Thank you to all our speakers, the symposium organising committee, and everyone who attended!

Download the program here.

2023 Monash Addiction Research Centre Symposium

We are delighted to share a recap of the 2023 MARC Symposium, which took place on Thursday, 18 May, at The Pavilion, Caulfield campus.

This one-day event brought together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and advocates in the field of addiction to delve into various aspects of addiction and discuss strategies for prevention and treatment. The day began with an enlightening keynote presentation by Dr Annie Madden AO (Executive Director of Harm Reduction Australia) on drug user representation and its significance over the past three decades. It was followed by engaging plenary sessions covering priority populations, technology and treatment, quantifying addiction-related harms, a thought-provoking panel discussion with Dr Annie Madden AO, A/Prof Kate Seear (Principal Research Fellow in the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, Australian Research Council Future Fellow), Distinguished Prof Robin Room (Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University) and panel moderator Mietta Gibson (MARC Advisory Board chair) on human rights and drug law reform. The symposium provided a platform for thought-provoking discussion and knowledge exchange.

The symposium celebrated excellence with several awards given to PhD and early to mid-career researchers. Attendees on the day voted for the best PhD poster, which was won by Ramez Bathish (Turning Point) and the EMCR poster, which was won by Dr James Gooden (Turning Point). We also presented the inaugural awards for the 2022 MARC Publications Prize, with Louisa Picco (MARC) winning the best PhD publication prize and Dr Amanda Cross (CMUS) winning the best EMCR publication prize.

We want to thank all our speakers and everyone who could attend the symposium and make the event a success!

Download the program here.

2022 Monash Addiction Research Centre Symposium

The 2022 Monash Addiction Research Centre Symposium was held on Thursday, 19 May, at the Monash Caulfield campus. The one-day event brought together world-leading addiction researchers from across Monash University and the broader sector to discuss and address harms relating to alcohol, other drugs and gambling.

More than 100 people attended the symposium with presentations from over 20 speakers, including a keynote presentation from Prof Alison Ritter from the University of NSW, and an afternoon panel discussion with Prof Ritter, Fiona Patten MP, A/Prof Charles Livingstone and moderated by MARC Advisory Board chair, Mietta Gibson.

Prize Winners

Best PhD Poster Award – Sarah Haines for her poster presentation titled 'Consumer experience of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP) in Victoria: Perspectives from people who use opioids to manage chronic pain.'	Best EMCR Poster Award – Dr Leanne Francia and Amelia Berg for their poster titled 'Language Matters: The influence of language on treatment-seeking for people experiencing alcohol and other drug harms in hospital and primary care settings'.

View the 2022 MARC Symposium program here

View the list of posters displayed at the 2022 MARC Symposium here

2019 Monash Addiction Research Centre Symposium 

We were delighted to host the inaugural MARC Symposium on Thursday, 22 August. We heard from over 30 speakers from 5 departments across Monash. It was a fantastic event highlighting the diverse range of addiction research currently being conducted at the University and the truly collaborative spirit of our researchers. Here is some of the wonderful feedback we received:

“Congratulations on running one of the most thought-provoking and truly impactful and interdisciplinary symposia that it has been my pleasure to attend.”

“It was a fantastic event - really blown away not just by the breadth but also by the quality of the work that is being conducted across the university.”

“Congratulations on such a really well-organised and run day. I’m a big fan of short punchy presentations and so the format was great.”

Prize Winners

During the afternoon, we were excited to announce the awardees of the MARC Interdisciplinary Research Support Funding Scheme: 2019.

Thank you to everyone who attended – it was the broad participation that made it so great!

View the 2019 MARC Symposium program here