Dr Cassandra Wright
Program Lead, Alcohol and other Drugs team
Qualifications:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Public health/Epidemiology, Monash University, 2018; BHSc (Hons) – Major in Health Promotion, Monash University, 2011
Approved level of HDR supervision at Charles Darwin University:
PhD
Location:
Darwin - Royal Darwin Hospital campus
Biography:
Dr Cassandra Wright is a public health researcher specialising in alcohol and drugs research and leads the Alcohol and other Drugs Program at Menzies.
Dr Wright's team focuses on the intersection of alcohol and other drugs with other social issues. Her team studies the impact of alcohol policies on health and social outcomes, the relationship between alcohol and domestic, family and sexual violence outcomes, alcohol and drug harms in nightlife and event spaces, the impact of alcohol and social issues on road deaths, drivers of NT alcohol policy and the commercial determinants of health.
Dr Wright has held four competitive fellowships including a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship and an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award.
Dr Wright is committed to developing the capacity of Territorians to undertake high-quality alcohol and drug research. The team partners with national and international research groups to ensure that all projects have the combination of local input and capacity building with the highest quality expertise and methodology. The team also partners with NT clinicians and AOD services, people with lived experience and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to enhance research impact.
- Learning from Alcohol policy Reforms in the NT (LEARNT): Evaluation of the impact of the Banned Drinker Register and other alcohol policies in the NT
- Unpacking the policy process: alcohol policy in complex social environments
- Project White-ant: co-creating knowledge with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities about mobilising to protect against commercial determinants of health
- Understanding pedestrian deaths and serious injuries in the NT
- All Good Evaluation
- Mandatory Alcohol Treatment review
- Wright, C. J., Clifford, S., Miller, M., D'Abbs, P., Giorgi, C., Crane, M., & Smith, J. A. (2021). While Woolworths reaps the rewards, the Northern Territory community will be left to clean up the mess. Health Promotion Journal of Australia: Official Journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals, 32(2), 158-162.
- Clifford, S., Wright, C. J., Miller, P. G., Coomber, K., Griffiths, K. E., Smith, J. A., & Livingston, M. (2024). What are the impacts of alcohol supply reduction measures on police-recorded adult domestic and family violence in the Northern Territory of Australia?. International Journal of Drug Policy, 127, 104426.
- Wright, C. J., Miller, M., Kuntsche, E., & Kuntsche, S. (2022). ‘What makes up wine o'clock? Understanding social practices involved in alcohol use among women aged 40–65 years in Australia. International Journal of Drug Policy, 101, 103560.
- Clifford, S., Wright, C. J., Livingston, M., Smith, J. A., Griffiths, K. E., & Miller, P. G. (2023). Experiences of trauma and alcohol and other drug use by domestic, family, and sexual violence offenders: A review of 6 months of sentencing remarks from the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Australia. Journal of Criminology, 56(1), 78-97.
- Clifford, S., Smith, J. A., Livingston, M., Wright, C. J., Griffiths, K. E., & Miller, P. G. (2021). A historical overview of legislated alcohol policy in the Northern Territory of Australia: 1979–2021. BMC Public Health, 21, 1-18.
- Miller, M., Pettigrew, S., & Wright, C. J. (2022). Zero‐alcohol beverages: Harm‐minimisation tool or gateway drink?. Drug and Alcohol Review, 41(3), 546-549.
- Miller, P., Coomber, K., Smith, J., Livingston, M., Stevens, M., Guthridge, S.,… Wright C. … & Chikritzhs, T. (2022). Learning from alcohol (policy) reforms in the Northern Territory (LEARNT): protocol for a mixed-methods study examining the impacts of the banned drinker register. BMJ open, 12(4), e058614.
- Clifford, S., Wright, C. J., Miller, P. G., Baldwin, R., Griffiths, K. E., Smith, J. A., & Livingston, M. (2024). Police‐recorded adult sexual assault in the Northern Territory, Australia: Alcohol involvement and alcohol policy effects. Drug and alcohol review, 43(2), 519-528.
- Piatkowski, T., Moran, J., Canty, R., & Wright, C. J. (2024). ‘I mean, I wouldn't say I was sober’: Exploring the psychosocial impact of e‐scooter injuries and aligning a collaborative public health response. Health promotion journal of Australia.
- Wardle, F., Piatkowski, T., Clifford, S., Peacock, A., Dietze, P., Lim, M., ... & Wright, C. J. (2024). Safe beats down under: investigating the support of drug checking at a regional festival in the Northern Territory, Australia. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 1-9.
