Professor Jacqueline Bowden is the Director of NCETA. She is a behavioural scientist who has worked at the interface of research and public health policy for more than 20 years (particularly in tobacco and alcohol control, and more recently other drugs). Jacquie has a background in both psychology (BA (Hons) and PhD) and public health (MPH). Jacquie has held roles in academia, the non-government sector and within government. Prior to her role at NCETA, Jacquie was Deputy Director of the Health Policy Centre at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute for 7 years, and Externally Funded Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide. 

Dr Ashlea Bartram is a Senior Research Fellow at NCETA. She holds a PhD in Public Health with research interests in health behaviours and behaviour change, with her PhD thesis focused on how people negotiate the social consequences of stopping or reducing their alcohol consumption. Prior to joining NCETA, Ashlea worked as a Behavioural Scientist at the SAHMRI Health Policy Centre, focusing on research and evaluation projects related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Ashlea has also previously worked in research roles at the Centre for Workplace Excellence at the University of South Australia and the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

Dr Kirrilly Thompson is a Senior Research Fellow with NCETA. She is a cultural anthropologist with a particular interest in how psychological, social and cultural dimensions of risk inform decision-making. Kirrilly is a qualitative and mixed-methods research specialist, having led research and consultancy projects of national significance over the past 15 years. In 2015, Kirrilly was one of ABC Radio National’s Top 5 Scientists Under 40.

Sarah Powell commenced in August 2023 as the Operations Manager at NCETA. Sarah has been working at Flinders University since early 2022 as a Project Manager within the Caring Futures Institute. She has years of project and business management experience working across various sectors in not for profit, small and large organisations.

Victoria Kostadinov joined NCETA in 2013, beginning as a Research Officer and moving on to Research Fellow in 2024.  She holds a Masters Degree in Organisational Psychology and Human Factors from the University of Adelaide. Victoria’s primary research interests lie in the social determinants of alcohol and drug use, and particularly the role of the workplace.  Her PhD is focussed on very high-risk drinking in the general population: comparing men and women.

Gianluca (Luca) Di Censo joined NCETA as a Research Fellow in August 2024. Luca completed his PhD at the University of Adelaide, researching sports betting marketing’s impact on youth. Passionate about addressing societal issues, he values the challenge of making a positive impact. His work focuses on societal substance use, particularly the psychosocial factors and young people’s perceptions of alcohol.

Christina Norris is a Research Officer at NCETA. She holds a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours) from Flinders University and has interest in understanding the social context of health behaviours to support population-level behaviour change. Her PhD proposal is about how imagery on alcohol products affects purchasing, consumption and perceptions of healthiness. Christina previously worked as a Research Assistant at SAHMRI in the Health Policy Centre.

Md Abdul Ahad is a Research Assistant with NCETA. His academic and researcher expertise is in child protection and drug abuse research. Ahad completed his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Masters in Rural Sociology at Sylhet Agricultural University, Bangladesh. In 2023, he completed a PhD degree in Child abuse and neglect from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University. His PhD project is primarily focusing on the prevalence and impact of maltreatment of children. 

Armin Muminovic is a Research Assistant with NCETA. He holds a Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences (Honours) from the University of Adelaide, along with a Graduate Certificate in Public Health from Flinders University. His research focuses primarily on public health policy and AOD workforce education.

Stefano Zaccagnini commenced his PhD research in May 2024 on high risk drinking among men. He has completed a Bachelor of Criminology (Hons) with a research background in cyberdeviancy and autistic traits at Adelaide University.

Nathan Harrison is working on an implementation science PhD focused on cancer risk reduction through lung cancer screening, smoking and stigma. He has a background in behavioural science.

Gene Mercer commenced his PhD in criminology in 2023, focusing on evaluating South Australia's Police Drug Diversion Initiative. He has worked within Government for the past decade developing, implementing and evaluating social policy / interventions and holds a Bachelor of Behavioural Science, majoring in Criminology. 

Joanna Caruso is focussing her PhD research on the evaluation of ‘every moment matters’ national awareness campaign on alcohol and pregnancy. She works within the Health Policy Centre at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), located in Adelaide, Australia.