Senior Lecturer & Acting Deputy Head of School
BSc (Hons) Tas, PhD Tas
| Contact Campus | Sandy Bay Campus |
| Building | Humanities Building |
| Room Reference | 118 |
| Telephone | +61 3 6226 2240 |
| Fax | +61 3 6226 2883 |
| Raimondo.Bruno@utas.edu.au |
Dr Raimondo Bruno has been involved in the drug and alcohol sector in Tasmania for the past decade in numerous research, evaluation, and consultancy roles. His main research interests include the cognitive consequences of use of medications and illicit drugs; illicit drug market trends; and approaches to reduce the harms associated with substance use.
He is a registered psychologist, and is the state representative to the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs, Co-Chair of the Pharmaceutical Misuse Working Group of the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia, an honorary fellow of Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, and a conjoint Senior Lecturer at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
Research Themes
Monitoring drug markets
Our research group is part of two national studies that monitor trends in the extent of use and availability of drugs as well as the health of those that use them. The Illicit Drug Reporting System focuses on substances such as methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, cannabis and pharmaceutical opioids, and is co-ordinated in Tasmania by Barbara de Graaff. The Ecstasy and related Drug Reporting System examines ecstasy, mephedrone, ketamine, methamphetamine and GHB, and is co-ordinated in Tasmania by Dr Allison Matthews. These studies are co-ordinated nationally by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, and help contribute to local and national drug and health policies, for example, guiding the types of equipment that are available at needle and syringe programs and training required for drug treatment service or event staff. We are also collaborating on projects examining novel approaches to substance use epidemiology through examination of wastewater.
How do medications affect driving safety?
Safe driving is an extremely complex process, and may be impacted by medications and other substances that affect the brain. We are interested in the effects of commonly used medications, such as sleeping aids (benzodiazepines), painkillers, and wake-promoting drugs affect a person’s ability to drive safely, as well as how effects may change if these are combined with alcohol. Studies are conducted locally using a driving simulator and cognitive assessment, as well as in collaboration with the Research on Alcohol Drugs and Driving group based at the University of Sydney.
Are there lasting effects of illicit drug use on cognition?
Use of many different drugs may produce residual effects on how the brain functions. Use of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), for example, may produce medium-term changes in the levels of serotonin, a key chemical messenger in the brain. Our group are conducting numerous studies to better understand how ecstasy affects memory, impulsiveness, and visual functioning. We are also interested in the effects of other drugs such as benzodiazepines, opioids and cannabis.
Reducing harm from non-prescribed pharmaceutical use
Pharmaceutical drugs may not always be used in the way they were prescribed. We are conducting a number of studies to understand how non-medical use of medications impacts on health, safety, and drug treatment. For example, in collaboration with researchers in the Tasmanian School of Pharmacy (Dr Rahul Patel and Professor Stuart McLean) we are working to develop techniques to reduce the harms that may arise if people inject pharmaceutical tablets. We are also collaborating on national projects to develop better assessments of people in opioid treatment to improve patient safety and to determine factors that predict good and sub-optimal outcomes in opioid treatment.
Research Project/s