A NEWLY established network will be tasked with researching drug and alcohol use in Ireland.
The Addiction Research Network Ireland (ARNI) will be a national platform which is due to be led by Professor Jo-Hanna Ivers at the Department of Public Health & Primary Care at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Medicine, it was confirmed this month.
Ireland’s Department of Health has commissioned the Health Research Board (HRB) to establish the network, in order to “support the development of alcohol and other drugs research in Ireland” they confirmed on December 18.
“The ARNI will facilitate partnerships among academic institutions, policymakers, individuals with lived and living experience, and citizen scientists,” they explained.
“The Department of Public Health & Primary Care at Trinity is uniquely positioned to lead this work,” they added.
The new network will be based at Trinity College Dublin“Trinity’s Department of Public Health offers unrivalled expertise in addiction research and knowledge translation, demonstrated through extensive engagement in nationally and internationally funded projects and through international policy advisory roles.”
Prof Ivers is an international leader in addiction science who will be joined by national experts and advisors from across a range of disciplines that contribute to the advancement of addiction science.
ARNI participants will include senior academics, early career researchers, and students from across Ireland, as well as an International Advisory Board representing Australia, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, a TCD spokesperson confirmed.
“ARNI will deliver an actionable, evidence-based, and strategic work plan focused on four core objectives: building a resilient substance use research community; facilitating research prioritisation; supporting the contribution of evidence to policy and practice decision-making; and working towards network sustainability,” they explained.
Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor said she was “pleased” to support the establishment of the network with departmental funding.
“I’m very pleased to be allocating funding to support the establishment of Addiction Research Network Ireland, which will enable the development of research that will help inform our health-led approach to reducing drug-related harms,” she said.
“The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use recommended strengthening the national research and data collection systems for drugs to inform evidence-based decision-making,” she added.
“Investment in this initiative comes at a critical time as we prepare for the publication of our next national drugs strategy. It is important that we continue to develop robust policies that are informed by strong evidence and research.”
Prof Ivers is currently the Principal Investigator of the Neurobehavioral Addiction Research Group at TCD and the founder and director of the university’s M.Sc. in Addiction Recovery.
She has also held multiple national advisory roles, including with the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs and the Rapid Response Group on Emerging Drug Trends.
“ARNI enables Ireland to shape the future direction of addiction science, one that is collaborative, transdisciplinary, and deeply informed by lived experience,” Prof Ivers said of her latest posting.
“Ireland already has exceptional researchers working not only in addiction but across many disciplines that can significantly strengthen and enrich addiction science,” she added.
“ARNI will bring this expertise together to build national capacity, meet the ambitions of national and European drugs strategies, respond to emerging health and social challenges, and grow the next generation of addiction researchers.
“By uniting our strengths, ARNI ensures that Ireland is strongly positioned to shape global knowledge and compete at the highest levels of European research funding.”