About Us
Global Leader On Behavioural Science In Tobacco Harm Reduction And ENDS Regulation.
CSUR opened in 1994 linked initially to the University of Glasgow where its foundational director held the post of Professor of Substance Use Research. In 2011 CSUR became a wholly independent research centre focussing on a wider range of substance use issues and developing a large programme of behaviourally focussed regulatory science research assessing the impact of ENDS on tobacco related health harm. The team within CSUR comprises post-doctoral researchers in behavioural science, experts in marketing, cyber security, and media. The research team within CSUR have experience in working alongside regulatory authorities including FDA to ensure that the studies executed can meet the needs of regulatory and public health bodies. CSUR also has direct experience of working with some of the major global panel companies including IPSOS MORI Qualtrics to broaden the coverage of its studies. CSUR as an organization is focussed on furthering the goals of tobacco related harm reduction and assessing the public health impact of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems. The goal of CSUR’s staff is to ensure that those working within these industries have access to high quality behavioural research that can further their owns goals of reducing the harms associated with the use of combustible tobacco products.
Years Experience
Executive Team
Neil Mckeganey
B.A. Hons., M.Sc., Ph.D. FRSA
Neil, formerly Professor of Substance Use Research at the University of Glasgow, opened CSUR in 1997 specialising in behavioural research in the addictions. In 2011, along with Professor Marina Barnard, McKeganey led the development of CSUR as a wholly independent research company. McKeganey has advised the U.K. and Scottish government’s on aspects of drug policy and provision and has provided consultancy support to the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, and the U.S. Department of Justice. McKeganey has presented his research findings at a wide range of international meetings including being invited to the U.S. White House to summarise his work on substance use and young people. Since 2017, Neil McKeganey and Dr Christopher Russell have collaborated in developing CSUR extensive programme of regulatory science research focussing on tobacco harm reduction and electronic nicotine delivery system. In 2012 Neil McKeganey was awarded the Nils Bejerot prize for his contribution to international drug policy and practice. Neil McKeganey is the author of over 200 peer reviewed academic papers and has edited and authored six books. Neil McKeganey is ranked within the top 2% of academic researchers on the global Research Gate platform and ranked as “outstanding” on the Google Scholar H- index.
Neil Mckeganey
Director
Marina Barnard
B.A., Ph.D
Marina was formerly a Professorial Research fellow at the University of Glasgow, is Co-Director of CSUR. In 2011 Barnard oversaw the development of CSUR as a wholly independent research company. Barnard’s principle area of academic expertise is on the impact of substance use on the family where she has written widely, including the acclaimed research monograph ‘Drug Use and the Family’ (2007). Barnard has advised the U.K. and Scottish Governments’ on aspects of drugs policy and practice, particularly on the deleterious impact of drug misuse on children and families. Responsible for all matters relating to finance, staff welfare, and the day to day running of CSUR, Barnard is also overseeing the move of the research centre to new premises in April 2021.
Marina Barnard
Director
Gabriel Barnard
B.A. Hons
Gabe joined CSUR in 2018. Winner of an internationally acclaimed “Clio” award” for his work on marketing and advertising Gabriel was initially responsible for exploring new ways of marketing and communicating CSUR research findings beyond the limited conventions of academic reporting. Over time Gabriel’s responsibilities have expanded to liaising with external funders in reporting the centre’s research programme and in developing new areas of the centres research programme. As Head of New Business Gabriel has been responsible for The Big Vape Survey assessing the relative impact of top selling ENDS products on adult smoker’s behaviour. Gabriel also has responsibility for developing a compendium of CSUR’s past research instruments/research questions to reduce the time taken to design, execute and report new studies.
Gabe Barnard
Deputy Director
Head of research
Farhana Haseen
M.Sc., MMedSc., Ph.D.
Farhana completed her PhD in Cancer and Nutritional Epidemiology at Queen’s University Belfast; she received her Masters of Medical Science in International Health at Uppsala University, Sweden, and Masters in Nutrition at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Prior to joining the Centre, Farhana worked on a research project at the University of St Andrews in relation to Scottish tobacco legislation and smoking behaviour among young people in Scotland. Farhana joined CSUR in 2018 and was appointed to the role of Director of Research in 2020. Within CSUR Farnhana leads multiple cross-sectional and longitudinal research projects within the broad area of smoking harm reduction, focusing specifically on the role of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in reducing smoking-related harm. Her research interest covers awareness and prevalence of tobacco use, perceptions of the risks and benefits of using ENDS, patterns of ENDS use that influence individuals’ behaviour of starting, quitting, or continuing to smoke combustible cigarettes and effective interventions to reduce harm from tobacco use. Farhana is interested in leading the research project exploring means of reducing smoking prevalence and smoking-related harm in developing countries.
Farhana Haseen
Head of Longitudinal Research
Andrea Patton
Ph.D.
Andrea is a Behavioural Epidemiologist and Head of Prevalence Research at the Centre.
Andrea’s expertise lies in conceptualising, designing, conducting, and reporting descriptive
and analytical studies that inform public health policy. Andrea completed her PhD at the
School of Medicine at the University of Dundee developing time series methodology to
evaluate public health interventions. Andrea has applied this knowledge through her work
with leading regulatory agencies in Scotland, advising Scottish Government and the Scottish
National Health Service. Before joining CSUR, Andrea led a behavioural research programme
at the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School. Since joining CSUR in 2020, Andrea has
established a behavioural research programme to provide regulatory science research for
clients seeking FDA authorization for tobacco products in the United States.
Andrea Patton
Head of Prevalence Research
CSUR Team
Venus Marza
Ph.D. Senior Research Fellow
Venus Marza is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Substance Use Research with over ten years of experience in data analysis. She earned her PhD in Computer Engineering with the topic of complex networks in 2015. In particular, she focused on topics of big data and data mining in various large-scale networks such as health-care data. More than her role as a data analyst, she was also effective as a lecturer for more than 11 years in West Tehran branch of Azad University in Computer Science department.
Venus spent ten years working as senior researcher and developer at Behpardaz Jahan Company. She was data analyst of EHR and pharmacies’ data and she has also designed a data model for e-prescription and medicine supply chain in FDO (Food and Drug Organization). She has published several papers in journals and conferences and has authored a book and a chapter book in her research scope.
At the Centre for Substance Use Research, Venus is involved in several research projects such as 1) Prevalence study and assessing the prevalence of use and intentions to use conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes in U.S adolescents and adults, 2) Recognition study and assessing verbal and visual recognition of e-cigarette products among adolescents and adults in the United States, and 3) Longitudinal Study to assess the rates at which cohorts of adults and adolescents in the United States initiate and cease use of a range of tobacco products over a 12-month period. Venus is currently working on prevalence project of e-cigarettes brands and devices to assess the prevalence and patterns of overall e-cigarettes use and specific e-cigarette brands and devices use among the adolescent and adult population in the U.S.
Venus Marza
Senior Research Fellow: Prevalence
Dylan Grier
Data Analyst
Joanne Coyle
Ph.D.
Joanne Coyle joined CSUR in March 2022. She has a PhD in the Sociology of Health and Illness and a master’s degree in the Sociology of Medicine. She is a senior qualitative researcher with extensive experience of exploring people’s perceptions, beliefs and experiences of illness and health care. She has also researched the views and experiences of health care practitioners and clinical trial staff in relation to the practice of medicine and the implementation of decentralised clinical trials. She is currently researching adult smokers’ perceptions, views, and knowledge of the relative harms of diverse nicotine delivery products, and primary care physicians’ views and knowledge of nicotine.
Joanne Coyle
Senior Qualitative Researcher
Sophie Notley
B.A. Hons
Sophie joined the Centre in 2018 and has played a key role in the development and execution of multiple intervention-based studies carried out in London involving the structured assessment of the impact of providing adult smokers with an ENDS device for varying lengths of time. Sophie is currently leading on the development of CSUR “Question Bank” drawing together all of CSUR previous research instruments and associated statistical analytic tools to identify a common set of questions and associated analyses that will allow future CSUR studies to be undertaken with minimal delay.
Sophie Notley
Research Fellow
Christopher Russell
Ph.D.
Christopher Russell is a Psychologist and Specialist Advisor for the Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR), Glasgow, Scotland.
Christopher Russell
Specialist Advisor
Support Staff
Suman Joshi
Administrator
Helen Taggart
Maureen Debbage
Cyber Security
Helen Duncan
Mike Robinson:
Legal Representation
Within the U.S. CSUR legal representation is provided by Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton