Professor Nicola Newton
Director of Prevention, the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, the University of Sydney.
Mental and substance use disorders are some of the most common causes of disability for people worldwide.
In any year, one in four young people will meet the criteria for a mental health or substance use disorder, and half will develop one before they leave high school. Additional pressures into adulthood can exacerbate risk factors, with 75% of disorders presenting before a person turns 25.
While there are many causes, risk factors, and triggers for mental health and substance use disorders, many of these are preventable. A growing body of research shows that prevention, particularly by delaying the age of onset, reducing co-occurrence with other disorders, and minimizing the severity of disability, can significantly reduce the physical, emotional, and financial burden of these disorders on individuals and communities.
At the Matilda Centre, prevention research is spearheaded by Director of Prevention, Professor Nicola Newton. Working with teams across several different projects that address prevention through various channels, Professor Newton aims to meet young people where they are at, and stop mental and substance use disorders before they start.
In this edition of Researcher Spotlight, we chat to Professor Newton about her journey to the Matilda Centre, developing innovative research and programs that work, and what she wants us to know about prevention.
Tell us about your journey to the Matilda Centre.
I met Professor Maree Teesson in 2006 when I was working as a Research Assistant at the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression with Professor Gavin Andrews. Maree was participating in a workshop we were running on alcohol disorders for the Tolkien 2 project - a needs-based, step care model for mental health services in Australia.
Maree and I hit it off straight away and she suggested I enrol in a PhD at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. Soon after, I started my PhD under the supervision of Maree and Gavin, developing and evaluating the OurFutures programs to prevent alcohol and cannabis use (formerly known as Climate Schools).
After completing my PhD in 2009, I spent two years at the Institute of Psychiatry under the mentorship of Professor Patricia Conrod – a leading expert in personality-targeted prevention. I promised Maree I would return to her team after two years (which I did!) and have been working alongside her and all the wonderful staff and students at the Matilda Centre ever since.
Photo: Professor Maree Teesson (left) and (then) Dr Nicola Newton (right) at her graduation in 2009. Supplied
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LinkWhy is prevention so important in mental health and substance use?
Substance use and mental disorders typically onset during the teenager years. If left untreated, they can lead to long-term disability, co-occurring disorders, and significant burden of disease and costs to the community.
By intervening early through effective prevention, we can disrupt the development and escalation of substance use and mental disorders. Essentially, we can adjust the life trajectories of young people so they can lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.
In order: Dr Katrina Champion, Dr Lyra Egan, Dr Lauren Gardner and Professor Nicola Newton at the graduation ceremony for Dr Lyra Egan's PhD in 2025. Supplied
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LinkYou co-created the Climate Schools (now OurFutures) model alongside Professor Maree Teesson. What is it about the OurFutures model that means it works when testing across several different substances and mental health?
We developed the OurFutures programs to address gaps in school-based drug education at the time. These included:
- limited time and resources for teachers to deliver prevention education
- a lack of programs that adopted a harm-minimisation versus abstinence-based approach to prevention, and
- a lack of co-designed programs that incorporated the voices of young people.
The OurFutures programs are a series of universal, school-based prevention programs that incorporate cartoon narratives to engage and empower students to make informed choices.
They require no teacher training, are aligned with the health curriculum and their online format ensures they are implemented with high fidelity. Students love learning via the OurFutures model and teachers highly recommend the programs to others.
Photo: The Climate Schools Combined (CSC) study team at the kickoff for the project in 2013. Supplied
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LinkThrough rigorous co-design and ten clinical trials led by a wonderful team of researchers, we have demonstrated the programs to be some of the most effective programs world-wide in preventing alcohol and other drug use. Following success of the research, we partnered with philanthropy, government and industry to scale the programs nationally through the OurFutures Institute.
We have already reached >300,000 students from 1/3 high schools in Australia and our goal is to reach all high schools by 2030.
What do you think everyone should know about prevention?
Prevention works!! And it’s cost-effective. Prevention is better than a cure, and the benefits young people and the community get from effective prevention is life changing.
Photo: Dr Katrina Champion (left) sits with Professor Nicola Newton (right) at the University of Sydney. Photo by Kay Powell
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LinkInterested in learning more about Professor Newton’s work? Check out our suite of programs on our prevention research page, and learn more about how to get your school involved in OurFutures Institute.