Professor Shane Darke will retire from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), UNSW Sydney at the end of 2024 after 36 years. He has been awarded the title of Emeritus Professor in recognition of his significant period of distinguished service and eminent contribution.  

Here, Professor Darke reflects on his impressive career and shares insights for those working in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector.   

When I started at NDARC in 1988, there were only a dozen of us. In the 36 years I have seen the Centre increase to over a hundred employees and become one of the three leading drug and alcohol research institutes in the world.  

I came to the Centre in 1988 as a Senior Research Officer to develop the Opiate Treatment Index. The focus of the Centre was then on treatment and treatment outcomes. Over the years this focus broadened into the wide range of activities we see today including monitoring drug trends, documenting and reducing harms, and in-depth studies of drug-related mortality. The late 1980s was the era of AIDS, prior to the development of the drugs that changed HIV infection into a chronic condition. Risk-taking behaviours, such as needle sharing, were front and centre of research on people who injected drugs, and a great deal of the Centre’s work reflected this.  

The 1990s saw the emergence of the heroin epidemic, what we could term the age of heroin. It became obvious in the early 1990s that overdose was the major clinical issue facing heroin users. Despite strong opinions being held about overdose, most of what we “knew” was wrong. Indeed, contrarian that I am, I have spent the last thirty years shooting down old myths. Much of my research on overdose has been on fatalities. We should always remember that the dead have much to teach the living. By understanding these tragedies, we may prevent more occurring in the future.  

The first year of the 21st century, 2001, saw the dawn of the age of methamphetamine. As heroin use declined (although never went away) there was an explosion in methamphetamine use. New problems emerged from this drug, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, psychosis and violence. It is worth remembering that the Centre correctly predicted the rise of methamphetamine through the Illicit Drug Reporting System, and over the past 24 years has studied the problem extensively, working with our partners in the broader field. More recently, we have seen the rise of new psychoactive substances (NPS). Again, this has drastically reshaped the research and clinical landscape as the sector attempts to catch up with the plethora of new drugs emerging each month. This phenomenon has also seen the rise of new marketplaces for drugs, sites on the dark web. As always, the landscape changes, and the Centre must respond accordingly.  

It has been a pleasure to have had the good fortune to work at NDARC for 36 years. During that time, I have worked with some of the finest minds and people in our field. I have seen the Centre have a major impact on treatment, harm reduction interventions and policy, as well as train new generations of people to continue high quality work in the field. I leave the Centre in safe hands, and with a wonderful future ahead of it. I have been honoured to have been conferred the title of Emeritus Professor by UNSW and look forward to continuing to make a contribution to the Centre and our field.