Louisa Degenhardt

Louisa Degenhardt is an Australian drug and alcohol researcher, and a scientia professor. She is also a senior principal research fellow with the National Health and Medical Research Council, part of the Centre for National Drug and Alcohol Research. She was elected as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2024.

Education and career Degenhardt received her PhD in 2001. The topic was examining the comorbidity of mental disorders and drug use in the Australia and the general population.

She researches of diverse epidemiological studies. These studies include clinical population surveys, analysis of large-scale community. She also works on data linkage studies, particularly on young people and/or members of the population who have either historical drug dependence or experience chronic pain.

Degenhardt has a number of honorary Professorial appointments. These include appointments at the University of Washington, as well as the University of Melbourne, in the school of Global Health and Population, and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. She has published more than 45 book chapters 530 peer-reviewed papers, three books, and over 10 papers published in The Lancet.

Select publications include:

Wardle H; Degenhardt L; et al. (2021), 'The Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling', Lancet Public Health, 6, pages. e2 - e3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30289-9

Media Degenhardt has published in The Conversation, on topics including the global burden of health due to illicit drugs and mental health, and why these are rising. She has also published on Xanax, and other drugs used to treat anxiety and depression, and why the TGA may make these more difficult to receive.

Awards

2006: NSW Tall Poppy Award, Australian Institute of Policy and Science 2022: Best Female Scientists in the world, Clarivate 2023: Queen's Birthday – Officer of the Order of Australia 2024: Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science