A/Prof Louise Mewton

Experts / A/Prof Louise Mewton

A/Prof Louise Mewton

Associate Professor, Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney

Dr Louise Mewton is an Associate Professor and public health researcher with a focus on the epidemiology, assessment, prevention, and treatment of alcohol use and related disorders across the lifespan. She is Program Lead in Lifespan and Brain Health Research at the Matilda Centre, University of Sydney. Louise’s current program of research focuses on understanding and reducing the cognitive impacts of alcohol exposure during gestation, adolescence, and older adulthood. She has received $16M in fellowship and project funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Rotary Health, Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, Dementia Australia, and National Institutes of Health (US). Working with the Australian Government Department of Health, she is currently developing teacher resources for the identification and management of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in primary school settings. In adolescents, she has an NIH-funded program of research using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study which investigates the neurodevelopment of adolescents at risk for harmful alcohol use. Louise is also a Visiting Academic at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, University of New South Wales, and collaborates extensively with the COSMIC Collaborators. She is currently leading a study using international data from the COSMIC cohort studies to investigate the relationship between alcohol use and dementia cross-nationally. In addition, she leads a collaboration between COSMIC and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation to achieve better coverage of low-to-middle income countries in the Global Burden of Disease estimates for dementia. Funded by the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, she is currently leading a large-scale randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of an online alcohol intervention in reducing alcohol use and cognitive decline in older adults.

Should Australia mandate cancer warnings for alcoholic drinks?

Alcohol causes huge harm in Australia, responsible for 5,800 new cancer cases per year. Yet many of us remain in the dark about its health risks. Is it time that warnings are displayed on packaging?

Should Australia mandate cancer warnings for alcoholic drinks?

Alcohol causes huge harm in Australia, responsible for 5,800 new cancer cases per year. Yet many of us remain in the dark about its health risks. Is it time that warnings are displayed on packaging?

By Rachel Visontay, A/Prof Louise Mewton