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Michael Farrell

Professor Michael Farrell FRCP FRCPsych is the Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney. He moved to Sydney from London in March 2011 following his appointment to NDARC. Prior to joining NDARC he was Professor of Addiction Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London and a Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsely Hospital. His extensive research interests covers all aspects of Addictions including tobacco, alcohol, opioids, marijuan, stimulants and other illicit drugs. He has a major interest in treatment evaluation, and the tranlsation of research into policy and practice. He has a long standing interest in drug dependence in prisons and within the wider criminal justice system. He is a member of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug and Alcohol Dependence since 1995 and chaired the WHO External Evaluation of the Swiss Heroin Trial. Professor Farrell has chaired the Scientific Advisory Committee of the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Abuse (EMCDDA) from 2007 to 2011.

Childhood. Michael Farrell was born in Gurteen, Atimmon, Athenry, Co Galway. He grew up in South County Dublin and was schooled in Scoil Lorcan and in Colaiste Mhuire, Parnell Square, Dublin. He was educated through the medium of Irish. He was also a founder member of the Gasoga Mara, Irish Speaking Sea Scouts. He was winner of the First Gael Linn under 15 National Project Competition on a project on the Dublin Port and Docks Board and the river Liffey. He was a member of the Strawberry Beds Canoe Clus and he represented Ireland at Llangollen 1971, as a junior international white water slalomist.

Career. He studies Medicine at The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and graduated with honour's in Medicine from the RCSI and the National University of Ireland. After an internship in Jervis St Hospital in Dublin, he worked with Dr John Patten in Neurology at the Royal Surrey Country Hospital, and then with Dr Michael Smith in Endocrinology and General Medicine and gained MRCP in general medicine. He then worked with Dr Lavinia Loughridge in Westminster Hospital as Resident Medical Registrar and Cardiology Registrar. He started training in Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry in 1984 and early on worked with Professor Griffith Edwards, where he developed a major interest in Addiction Psychiatry. He further developed this interest with his work with Professor John Strang. He worked from 1989 to 1991 as research worker in the Institute of Psychiatry. Form 1991 to 1993 he worked as a Senior Policy Officer coverage policy aspects of alcohol and drugs at the Department of Health. In 1993 he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley Hospital. He established and ran a large community wide Drug and Alcohol Team and undertook key research in the area of alcohol and drug epidemiology, and treatment. He served on numerous Government Committees including National Clinical Guidelines, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Department of Transport Panel on Alcohol, Drugs and Driving. He was subsequently promoted to Professor of Addiction Medicine and also Director of Postgraduate Medical Education for the South London and Maudsely Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry. His key areas of research have been on treatment of Injecting drugs users with Pharmacologically assisted approaches, Public Health Aspects of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. He was a founder and steering member of the UK National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey programme from 1993 to 2010. He was a founding member of the Cochrane Alcohol and Drug Group and is a current editor. He is a member of the World Health Organisations Expert Committee on Drug and Alcohol Dependence. He was worked with numerous International Organisations and consulted on National Drug Strategies many Countries. He was appointed as the Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre in 2010 and took up post in 2011.

Personal Life He lived in London from 1981 to 2011, and moved to Sydney in 2011. He is married and has two grown children.