Mr Jack Freestone

Jack is a PHD student enrolled with the Kirby Institute at UNSW, he is supervised by A/Prof Garrett Prestage, A/Prof Adam Bourne, Dr Krista Siefried, and Dr Mohamed Hammoud and is working in close collaboration with both the Kirby Institute and the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs across several research projects relevant to his PhD candidature. Jack is concurrently the Manager of AOD Research and Development Programs at ACON. Jack’s PhD research comprises of two projects addressing substance use among sexuality and gender diverse communities. In partnership with NCCRED, Thorne Harbour Health and the Western Australian AIDS Council Jack is conducting a multiphase national research project investigating GHB use in LGBTQ communities. This research will focus on the experience of GHB overdose with a view to generating evidence informed and peer led prevention responses. Additionally, in his role at ACON Jack has co-developed a peer led brief intervention program addressing harms associated with sexualised drug use among gay and bisexual men, transgender women, and non-binary people. Throughout his PhD candidature, Jack will monitor and evaluate this program of work. Prior to commencing his PhD, Jack worked as the Manager of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs at ACON. He has worked with LGBTQ communities across the fields of health promotion, service delivery and evaluation, community development and volunteer management for over seven years.