Join our panel of experts from across Australia and New Zealand for a crucial discussion on coordinating timely responses to synthetic opioids like nitazenes and other emerging drugs.
Following the release of Australia’s Annual Overdose Report 2024 and our popular webinar, Nitazenes: An expert panel discussion, this webinar delves into how we can build on existing surveillance systems for more effective health and community responses to new drug threats.
In this session, we’ll discuss:
- How to build on existing surveillance systems for more timely, multidisciplinary responses to emerging drugs.
- How community, sector, health, and police can work together for more effective public health responses.
- How to keep the community informed with meaningful information to prevent further harms.
This webinar is hosted by Rita Brien – Penington Institute.
Meet our speakers
Sarah Helm
Executive Director, New Zealand Drug Foundation (Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri
Sarah (Pākehā, Ngāi Tahu) is an experienced leader and CEO, driven by lived experiences and work at the forefront of leading change on health, youth, social and environmental issues.
Experience includes working for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as Strategic Communications Manager for the COVID-19 response, and for the Alcohol Advisory Council, Health Promotion Agency, and NZ AIDS Foundation.
Sarah was also head of the NZ Association of Adolescent Health & Development (Ara Taiohi) for several years.
Sarah will present on Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to the emergence of synthetic opioids and other drugs to reduce drug harms in the community.
Jen Vermeulen
Supervisor and Online Channels Manager, High Alert | Drug Information and Alerts Aotearoa New Zealand
An experienced digital communications professional and writer, Jen’s been responsible for the public-facing channels of New Zealand’s drug early warning system, High Alert, since its launch in 2020.
Previously, Jen was a journalist in Sydney before transitioning to digital communications in London. In New Zealand, Jen honed her digital skills at New Zealand Rugby, before joining the Labour Leader’s Office as social media manager to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, where she gained experience communicating complex policy information to public audiences.
Jen is deeply motivated by the potential of social media and digital platforms as tools for social good, and strives for growth and improvement to ensure High Alert remains a world leading drug early warning system.
Jen will present about High Alert’s network of health and social service partners, monitoring systems and public notifications to keep the community safe.
Dr Richard Bade
Senior Research Fellow and ARC DECRA Fellow, Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland
Richard obtained his PhD in 2016 before joining the Population Health Chemistry Group at the University of South Australia in 2017, where he focussed on developing methods for detecting illicit drugs in wastewater.
His research interests include surveillance, detection, and identification of new psychoactive substances in wastewater and exploring the impact of chemical and pathogen exposure during mass gatherings.
Richard is involved with the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program and leads an international consortium exploring the prevalence of new psychoactive substances worldwide.
Richard will present on a novel method for detecting nitazenes in wastewater and explore its potential for supporting drug surveillance and early warning systems.
Jared Brown
Manager, Toxicity Response, Epidemiology and Surveillance, Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs, NSW Ministry of Health
Over the past six years Jared and the team at Centre for Alcohol and Drugs have developed NSW Health drug surveillance and early warning system in collaboration with a range of stakeholders.
Jared is an advanced practice pharmacist in clinical toxicology with 16 years of experience at the NSW Poisons Information Centre in a range of roles as a Senior Poisons Specialist in toxicovigilance, research and operations director. He is passionate about rapidly identifying and responding to emerging poisoning threats.
Jared will present on the evolution of NSW’s Prescription, Recreational and Illicit Substance Evaluation (PRISE) and other data sources used to monitor for synthetic opioids and other drugs.
