Gillian Shorter

Dr Gillian Shorter is a Reader in Clinical Psychology at Queen's University Belfast's School of Psychology. She specializes in interventions for alcohol and drug use among individuals not seeking formal treatment, focusing on harm reduction strategies such as overdose prevention centers, drug consumption rooms, and evidence-based brief interventions. She has held academic roles including Visiting Professor at Tampere University (Finland) and Visiting Researcher at Trinity College Dublin. Her work bridges clinical research with public health policy, emphasizing stigma reduction and evidence-based approaches.

• Education Background: Not explicitly detailed in provided text, though she has over 20 years of research experience in alcohol/drug use.

Research Interests: Her work centers on three strands:

1. Developing effective interventions (e.g., drug consumption rooms, brief alcohol interventions).
2. Improving intervention evaluation methods (e.g., trial recruitment, behavior change frameworks).
3. Establishing core outcome sets to standardize research outcomes.

Her research has secured over £6M in funding from agencies like NIHR, Health Service Executive Ireland, and the Australian Research Council.

Articles Trends: Recent publications focus on overdose prevention centers, harm reduction policies, and systematic reviews of alcohol interventions. Key themes include global policy implications, qualitative studies of user experiences, and evidence synthesis for drug-related interventions.

• Awards:
  • Best Abstract (INEBRIA 2021)
  • Highest Cited Paper Awards (2019)
  • QUB Leading Researchers Programme membership

Advising & Grants: Supervised 15 PhD/DClinPsy students to completion. Current doctoral advisees include John McQuaide (Ulster) and Caoimhe Shields (QUB). Active in grant-funded projects on overdose prevention, alcohol policies, and testicular health initiatives (e.g., E-MAT trial).

Labs/Teams: Leads the MSc Clinical Health Psychology program and collaborates with networks like the Drug and Alcohol Research Network (DARN). Engages in interdisciplinary projects across addiction science, public health, and behavioral medicine.