Professor Sarah Larney is Co-Head, Alcohol and other Drugs Group at the Burnet Institute, a leading public health Institute in Melbourne Australia. Prior to her relocation to the Burnet in February 2026, Sarah was based at the Université de Montréal, Canada. Professor Larney is also Senior Editor of the International Journal of Drug Policy and Drug and Alcohol Review.

A world-leading public health scholar, Professor Larney’s research has made transformative contributions in relation to the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs, especially in relation to the prevention of overdose and viral infections such as hepatitis C and HIV. Her work on the epidemiology of overdose has been critical in drawing attention to dramatic shifts in local drug markets and corresponding increases in overdose fatalities. She has also undertaken work on specific groups of people who use drugs, such as women, older adults, and people in prisons, to support more targeted, safe, and effective harm reduction and treatment services. Professor Larney’s research has directly informed international public health targets for HIV and hepatitis elimination and been taken up by the WHO and UN to guide strategy.

Professor Larney has been included in Stanford University's Top 2 per cent Scientists list in recognition of her substantial impact in the categories of both Public Health and Substance Abuse. Professor Larney's Global Chair appointment will strengthen the University of Bath's internationally recognised research in addiction, harm reduction and public health. Working closely with colleagues across Bath’s new interdisciplinary Centre for Drug Use Research (CDUR), she will help advance collaborative research, joint publications and major international funding applications, as well as strengthening Bath's links with policy makers and public health organisations.

Professor Sarah Larney will be hosted by Professor Kari Lancaster, Director of Research in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences and Deputy Director of CDUR, Professor Tom Freeman, Director of CDUR, and Professor Christopher Pudney, Professor of Applied Biochemistry and Deputy Director of CDUR.

On Professor Larney's appointment as Global Chair, Professor Lancaster said:

Professor Larney’s research crosses disciplinary, national, and institutional boundaries to develop new insights into the most urgent challenges facing the fields of infectious disease and drug policy.

Her uniquely interdisciplinary and collaborative approach will inspire innovative research and practice within the newly established Centre for Drug Use Research at Bath and further catalyse the valuable international collaboration established between SPS and the Burnet Institute.

Proposed Activities at Bath

• Mentoring of Early Career Researchers
• Delivering a Public lecture and keynote on public health interventions
• Guest lectures to undergraduate students
• Develop interdisciplinary funding proposals
• Convene a cross-departmental symposium on overdose prevention