Helen Keane

Professor Helen Keane is a faculty member in the School of Sociology at The Australian National University. She holds academic qualifications including a BA from the University of Auckland, an MA from the University of York, and a PhD from ANU. Her research focuses on social and cultural studies of health and medicine, particularly addiction and drug use, embodiment, gender, and feminist theory. She actively supervises research students and contributes to policy-related studies on health and substance use.

Her work spans qualitative and quantitative methodologies, addressing topics such as pharmaceutical dependence, trauma-related substance use, and gendered dimensions of alcohol and violence. Recent projects include analyzing alcohol policy in sports contexts and exploring trauma’s role in addiction through a social research lens. She has collaborated on international studies comparing Australia, Canada, and Sweden.

Keane’s research outputs highlight interdisciplinary approaches to public health, policy analysis, and social theory. She has been involved in funded projects like the Understanding the Role of Trauma in Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Problems (2024–2027) and Gender, Alcohol and Violence in Australia: A Comparative Study (2018–2022). Her contributions emphasize critical perspectives on addiction, harm reduction, and the intersection of health policies with societal structures.