Research output per year
Research output per year
Accepting PhD Students
Research activity per year
Aileen O'Gorman BA MSc PhD is Professor of Substance Use and Social Policy and Programme Leader of the MSc in Contemporary Drug and Alcohol Studies (CDAS). Her primary research focus is on social and health inequalities. She has a special interest in the problematisation of social issues such as poverty and drug use; the unequal distribution of drug-related harms and deaths in marginalised communities; and, the role of policy in the production and reproduction of harms and inequalities.
Dr O’Gorman is an active participant in policy advocacy and research networks nationally and internationally. She is an appointed member of the Steering Group on the SG Drugs Research Network Scotland (DRNS) and academic lead for drug-related harms. She is Board Director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, and of the European Society for Social Drugs Research (ESSD); and, a member of international editorial board of the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. Formerly, she lead the Athena SWAN initiative at UWS and was Chairperson of a low-threshold drugs service - the Rialto Community Drugs Team, Dublin
Prior to joining UWS, Dr O’Gorman was a Lecturer and Co-ordinator of the Drugs Education and Research Partnership Initiative at University College Dublin (UCD); senior researcher at the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, Ireland; community researcher on the Fatima Mansions (Dublin) housing regeneration project; and a researcher at the Health Research Board, Ireland; the Centre for Urban and Community Research, Goldsmiths, University of London; and the Drug Indicators Project, Birkbeck College, University of London.
Dr O’Gorman has a successful history of securing national and international funding for research and knowledge exchange; designing and project managing research studies; establishing and leading research teams; managing financial expenditure; and, disseminating research findings to impact on policy and practice. Currently, she is Principal Investigator on two externally funded research: Preventing drug-related deaths: the role of Primary Care (funded by Scottish Government’s Drug Death Task Force); a Social autopsy of drug-related deaths among young people in Scotland (funded by the Corra Foundation).
Dr O’Gorman’s signature research is participative, engages with the communities affected, and has an impact on policy and practice in relation to drug and social policy reform. She works closely with experts by experience (people who are marginalised, stigmatised, and/or use drugs); civil society and community development organisations; policy makers and advisors; and service providers to ensure her research is relevant, equitable and accessible.
Dr O’Gorman’s research draws on a career that spans the third sector, government as well as academia – an expertise that informs her teaching and the development of the Contemporary Drug and Alcohol Studies programme. She is module co-ordinator for postgraduate modules on Understanding Substance Use; the Politics of Drug and Alcohol Policy; Drugs and Culture; and, the MSc CDAS dissertation. In addition, she contributes to postgraduate teaching across the School of Education and Social Sciences.
Drugs Research Network Scotland
Scottish Drugs Forum
Alcohol and Drug Partnerships, Scotland
Substance Misuse Unit, Scottish Government
Drug Strategy Unit, Department of Health, Ireland
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
Harm Reduction International
International Society for the study of Drugs Policy
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
2017, Drugs Research Network Scotland
2017 → …
Board of Management, Scottish Drugs Forum
2017 → …
Scientific Committee , International Society for the Study of Drugs Policy (ISSDP)
2016 → …
Steering Group, Scottish Drugs Policy Conversations
2015 → …
Board of Management , European Society for Social Drugs Research (ESSD)
2014 → …
International Editorial Board , Drugs: education, prevention and policy - journal
2012 → …
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
O'Gorman, A. (Contributor) & Nicolson, J. (Contributor)
Activity: Other › Types of External academic engagement - Contribution to the work of national or international committees and working groups
O'Gorman, A. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
O'Gorman, A. (Examiner)
Activity: Other › Types of External academic engagement - Contribution to the work of national or international committees and working groups
O'Gorman, A. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
O'Gorman, A. (Speaker) & Black, K. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
30/10/19 → 4/11/19
3 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
4/07/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
4/07/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
4/07/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
4/07/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment