Rate My Professor Matthew Dunn

Matthew Dunn is an Associate Professor in the School of Health and Social Development within the Faculty of Health at Deakin University, Geelong Waterfront Campus, and a member of the Institute for Health Transformation. He earned his PhD from the University of Sydney in 2006 with a dissertation on the influence of drug use, exercise, and sexual orientation on body image concerns in men. Additional qualifications include a Graduate Certificate in Population Health from the University of Newcastle (2006), Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Wollongong (2000), Graduate Certificate in Science (Applied Statistics) from Swinburne University of Technology (2014), Graduate Certificate in Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Studies from the University of Queensland (2014), and Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from Deakin University (2014). He also holds a Certificate III in Fitness. Dunn began his academic career teaching undergraduate psychology at the University of Sydney and Australian Catholic University. From 2005 to 2011, he worked at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW Sydney, continuing as Conjoint Senior Lecturer since 2012. He joined Deakin University in March 2011 as Lecturer in Health Sciences, advancing to Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Public Health in the School of Health and Social Development from March 2012 to present.

Dunn's research specializations encompass substance use and related harms, with a focus on performance and image enhancing drugs such as anabolic-androgenic steroids, drug use in sport, illicit drug markets, emerging synthetic substances, and harm reduction strategies. His work also addresses food insecurity, health literacy, and vaping cessation. Key publications include "The role of food banks in addressing food insecurity: a systematic review" (2016), "Health literacy and the Internet: a study on the readability of Australian online health information" (2015), "Measuring and Understanding Food Insecurity in Australia: A Systematic Review" (2019), "The epidemiology of anabolic–androgenic steroid use among Australian secondary school students" (2011), and "The App Behavior Change Scale: Creation of a Scale to Assess the Potential of Apps to Promote Behavior Change" (2019). He has over 3,300 citations across 121 publications. Dunn serves as Associate Editor-in-Chief for Performance Enhancement & Health, is Victorian Representative for the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs, and a member of the Geelong Drug Action Plan Committee, Sports Medicine Australia, and Public Health Association of Australia. He supervises Honours and Masters students, leads projects like the PUSH! Audit on PIEDs, and engages in media on drug topics.