As the year comes to an end, we take a moment to reflect on achievements from the last 12 months and the impact of our research within the alcohol and other drugs sector and related fields. From webinars and events to major grant successes and a new home, here are some of the standout moments for NDARC in 2025. 

Sharing knowledge through the NDARC Webinar Series

NDARC continued its weekly Webinar Series throughout 2025, providing accessible, evidence-based insights to thousands of attendees. Across the year, the Centre delivered 32 webinars, drawing 9,030 registrations.

The most widely attended session was “Cannabis use, risks and potential: Evidence on a moving target”, presented by Associate Professor Valentina Lorenzetti and attracting more than 300 participants.

Watch recordings of our webinars on the NDARC YouTube channel.

A successful 2025 Annual Research Symposium

Nearly 1,000 people registered for the NDARC Annual Research Symposium in September, held at the Wesley Conference Centre, Sydney. The program showcased research in the alcohol and other drug sector in Australia and overseas.

A key highlight was a panel discussion on the National Drug Strategy, moderated by Dr Norman Swan with insights from Professor Mel Miller, Associate Professor Robert Ali, Dr Mary Harrod and Associate Professor Michael Doyle.

Recordings of all sessions are available now.

A new era in the Health Translation Hub

In September, NDARC moved to the newly opened Health Translation Hub (HTH) at UNSW Sydney. Purpose-built to bring researchers, clinicians and industry partners together, the HTH represents a major investment in accelerating world-leading translational research.

The move marks a milestone for NDARC as we expand our capacity to collaborate and innovate. The Centre also showcased 30 years of the Drug Trends program at the HTH Open House event, which demonstrated how UNSW and our partners are transforming health outcomes through collaboration, creativity and cross-disciplinary expertise.

Find out more about the UNSW HTH.

Celebrating excellence

NDARC researchers continued to achieve national recognition in 2025:

• Professor Michael Farrell, NDARC Director, was awarded the Senior Scientist Award at APSAD 2025 for his long-term contribution to the field of substance use. 
• Scientia Professor Louisa Degenhardt was awarded a $2.3 million grant by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to improve health and social outcomes for people leaving prison. 
• Associate Professor Amy Peacock secured a $1.99 million Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant to investigate alcohol misuse among young Australians. 
• Professor Rebecca McKetin was awarded the MAGNET Trial of the Year award for The Tina Trial, a multi-site clinical trial of mirtazapine for methamphetamine use.
• Dr Jack Freestone from the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) was awarded the 2025 AIVL Peer Researcher Recognition Award.  

Providing commentary and expertise 

In 2025, NDARC received more than 300 media mentions across radio, television, print and digital outlets. Here’s a snapshot of a few highlights: 

The Conversation (26/09) 
Associate Professor Amy Peacock and Dr Rachel Sutherland wrote about key findings from the 2025 Drug Trends national reports. Read more.

Australian Associated Press (15/07) 
Associate Professor Ryan Courtney was interviewed about findings from a major clinical trial that showed vapes containing nicotine are more effective quit-smoking aids than nicotine lozenges and gum for socially disadvantaged adults. Read more.

MJA Insight+ (12/05) 
Dr Alys Havard and Dr Danielle Tran wrote about their multinational study on the use of quit-smoking medicines during pregnancy. Read more.

See all NDARC media mentions.

NDARC staff and students also shared their expertise via the NDARC blog. Topics covered include: 

• Alcohol retail lobbying: Comparing policy positions between sectors by Dr Michala Kowalski. Read more.

• Comprehensive community initiatives: What are they, and what works best? By Dr Peter Gates. Read more.

• Tina Trial reflections: Site close-out visits by Professor Rebecca McKetin. Read more.

See all NDARC blogs. 

Looking ahead

NDARC remains committed to its mission to be a global leader in research excellence, at the forefront of informing evidence-based policy and practice to reduce alcohol and other drug-related harms. We look forward to celebrating upcoming significant milestones including the 30th anniversary of Drug Trends in 2026 and NDARC’s 40th anniversary in 2027. 

We thank all our collaborators, partners and supporters for a productive and impactful year.

Please note: NDARC will be closed from Monday, 22 December 2025 and will reopen Monday, 5 January 2026.