Prof Nadine Ezard
Director
Professor Nadine Ezard is the Director of NCCRED. Nadine is also the Clinical Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney Australia home to one of NSW’s first specialist stimulant treatment programs.
Dr Krista Siefried
Clinical Research Lead
Krista is an experienced Clinician Researcher with broad experience in academic investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored research including multi-centre randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, and case-control studies.
Jemma Hallen
Centre Operations/Project Manager
Jemma Hallen is the Centre Operations/Project Manager for NCCRED and has a Bachelor of Media (PR & Advertising). She started as the Executive Assistant to the Director and was moved to the Project Officer role in September 2020 after acting up in that role for 11 months. She was then promoted to Centre Manager in September 2021.
Dr Liam Acheson
Postdoctoral Fellow
Liam is an early career clinical researcher whose PhD was awarded in June 2024.
Dr Kathryn Fletcher
Senior Research Associate
Kathryn is a clinician researcher with over 15 years of experience in the field of mental health. She has published widely on phenomenology, psychological factors and treatments for psychiatric conditions, and digital health interventions.
Dr Jack Freestone
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Jack Freestone is an NCCRED post-doctoral research fellow. His research at NCCRED focuses on NCCRED’s Prompt Response Network and Australian approaches to monitoring and responding to emerging drugs of concern.
Dr Cilla Zhou
Research & Partnerships Manager
Cilla is the Research & Partnerships Manager at NCCRED, where she supports NCCRED research activities by fostering national/international partnerships and strengthening consumer collaborations.
Lucy Watson
Knowledge Translation Lead
Lucy (she/they) is a Knowledge Translation Lead at NCCRED. Lucy has over five years' experience in community health, specialising in LGBTQ+ health, policy and research.
Dora Karavasilis
Knowledge Translation Lead (IMPACT)
Dora is a public health professional with expertise in research & knowledge translation, learning & development, vocational education and training, learning design and all types of writing for the health and community sector. She is working part time while currently doing her PhD and leading the development of NCCREDs IMPACT study.
Andrea Delgado
Executive Assistant
Andrea is the Executive Assistant for NCCRED. She has a Bachelor Degree in Psychology and a Psychosocial Management Specialisation from the University of Nariño (Colombia).
Harriet MacDonald
Research Assistant
Harriet is a Research Assistant at NCCRED. She has a Bachelors degree in pharmacology and neuroscience from the University of Sydney.
Sophie van der Helder
Research Assistant
Sophie van der Helder is a Research Assistant at NCCRED who recently graduated from the University of New South Wales with a BAdvSci (Hons).
Stassi Kypri
Doctoral Student & Research Assistant
Stassi is a research assistant and doctoral student. He works mainly on NCCRED's Prompt Response Network. Stassi's doctoral thesis relates to illicit drug-related monitoring and early warning systems with a particular focus on non-prescribed ketamine.
Stephanie Riches-Evans
Research Officer
Steph is a Research Officer at NCCRED. She has a Bachelors Degree in Biological Sciences and an extensive background in caring and allied health.
Dr Brendan Clifford
Conjoint Senior Lecturer
Dr Brendan Clifford is a clinician researcher based at the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, and a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. He uses interdisciplinary methods to further health equity and enhance access to evidence-based healthcare.
Teodora Zanesheva-Karamanlieva
Clinical Research Project Manager
Teodora Zanesheva-Karamanlieva is a Clinical Research Project Manager and Registered Nurse with extensive experience in clinical trials across alcohol and drug health.
Joanne Lee
Clinical Trials Coordinator & Research Nurse
Joanne is a Clinical Trials Coordinator at St. Vincent's Hospital Sydney, working in collaboration with NCCRED.