The SSA is pleased to introduce the first cohort of PhD students and fellows through the Addiction Healthcare Goals flagship research leadership programme. Find out more about the researchers and their innovative ideas for addressing addiction to illicit drugs and alcohol.
In September 2025, the UK Government shared the news that the SSA had been chosen to deliver the Addiction Healthcare Goals flagship research leadership programme – “providing funding for academic and career development programmes tailored to the specific demands of the addiction research field”. Following a competitive application process for the first round of PhD studentships and fellowships, six outstanding researchers were awarded funding.
New PhD students
Matthew Dobson works as a researcher embedded within local authorities in the North Tees Region – conducting and co-producing service evaluations and place-based research in drug and alcohol recovery services. Through his PhD, Matthew will develop a pragmatic psychosocial intervention for people in drug treatment with long-term persistent pain to improve their recovery trajectories.
Shelley Duffy has an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in psychology, and is a Senior Research Assistant at STAR Recovery, where her work has focused on needs assessments, service evaluations, family recovery, and women’s recovery. Her PhD will involve co-producing a women’s recovery capital model to map the personal, social, and community resources that can support women and mothers to recover and rebuild their lives.
Layla Sadek is a practicing psychologist at the Psychological Medicine Hospital in Cairo, Egypt. Her interest in the field of addiction began during her undergraduate dissertation, which explored the harmful effects of cannabis use in adolescents compared with adults. Her PhD will aim to improve the understanding of early adolescent cannabis problems in the UK, with implications for policymakers, youth drug services, and young people and their families.
New fellows
Dr Mark Adley has a professional background in substance use, criminal justice, and homelessness systems and services in the North East of England, and co-designed the Drugs Wheel harm reduction model in 2012, which is now cited in papers and textbooks around the world and is available in 20 international versions. His fellowship will explore how to reduce barriers to drug and alcohol treatment for British South Asian communities.
Dr Vicky Carlisle is a Chartered Psychologist and Research Fellow in Behavioural Science at Bristol Medical School. Working with Voice of the Voiceless – a group of people with lived experience of opioid agonist treatment in Bristol – Vicky’s fellowship will focus on developing an evidence-based intervention to reduce stigma in pharmacy opioid agonist treatment delivery.
Dr Lisa Schölin is a public health researcher based at the University of Edinburgh, with a research post in the Scottish Ambulance Service. Her fellowship will examine the journey patients take as they engage with 999/NHS4 and ambulance services in Scotland.
Latest funding opportunities
The flagship research leadership programme is funded by the UK Government’s Office for Life Sciences. It aims to support projects that drive innovative responses to addiction to illicit drugs and alcohol, and develop the next generation of leaders in addiction science. If you are passionate about a career in addiction science, the flagship research leadership programme has funding options for key stages of your career development:
- Master’s bursaries (opened 8 April 2026; no closing date)
- Pre-doctoral and post-doctoral support (9 April 2026–4 July 2026)
- PhD studentships and fellowships (27 May 2026–30 July 2026)
- Leadership training grants (dates to be announced)
