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Dr. Rose Crossin serves as Senior Lecturer and Undergraduate Convener in the Department of Population Health at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Faculty of Medicine. She earned her BSc in biological sciences from Massey University, followed by a BSc (Honours) from the University of Queensland. Crossin completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2018, conducting research in an addiction neuroscience lab at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. Her doctoral thesis, titled “The growth and energy balance consequences of adolescent inhalant abuse,” investigated the physiological effects of inhalant misuse. Prior to her academic career, she held research and strategy roles in the Australian public sector. After her PhD, she worked as a researcher at Monash University and in drug policy advocacy and research at the Penington Institute before returning to New Zealand in 2020 to join the University of Otago.
Crossin's academic interests center on alcohol and drug harms, public health, inhalant misuse, drug policy, and prevention. Her current projects examine drug and alcohol harms in Aotearoa New Zealand, on-demand access to unhealthy commodities such as alcohol, and the relationship between alcohol and suicide. She belongs to the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs and provides media expertise on addictions, suicide, and self-harm. In 2024, she was awarded the University of Otago Early Career Research Award for her research impacting communities and informing policy. With over 949 citations on Google Scholar, her influence extends to drug harm reduction strategies. Key publications include “The New Zealand drug harms ranking study: A multi-criteria decision analysis” (Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2023), ranking drug harms specific to New Zealand; “The effect of adolescent inhalant abuse on energy balance and growth” (Pharmacology Research & Perspectives, 2019); “Quantifying access to on-demand alcohol in New Zealand” (Drug and Alcohol Review, 2023); “Presence of alcohol and other drug use within youth mental health presentations” (Emergency Medicine Australasia, 2024); and “New Zealand’s choice: Funding our drug policy” (Helen Clark Foundation, 2025).
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