DACAS - Key Persons
Professor Dan Lubman AM has worked across mental health and drug treatment settings in UK and Australia.
Dr Lubman's research is wide-ranging and includes investigating the impact of alcohol and drug use on brain function, the relationship between substance use, gambling and mental disorder, the development of targeted telephone, online and face-to-face intervention programs within school, primary care, mental health and drug treatment settings, as well as building effective help-seeking and recovery responses.
Dr Lubman has published over 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters and major reports, and was Chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' (RANZCP) Faculty of Addiction Psychiatry for over a decade. He is regularly contacted for policy advice and community comment, and sits on numerous State and Commonwealth expert reference committees.
Job Titles:
- Consultant to Various Government
Benny graduated from Monash University 1975, then trained at Prince Henry's Hospital and Alfred Hospital and in Newmarket Hospital in UK.
He is a member of the Drug and Alcohol Clinical Advisory Service (DACAS) in Victoria, a Member of Royal Australasian College of Physicians' Drug and Alcohol Committee and a Member of VAILA (Inter Hospital Liaison).
He was Chairman of the RACGP Drug and Alcohol Committee for 10 years until December 2003 and was awarded the Outstanding Service medal to the College in May 2005.
Benny is a consultant to various Government and non government Boards and bodies on addiction medicine issues.
Dr Catherine Hearn is a consultant psychiatrist with a specialist qualification in addiction psychiatry.
She has previously completed an undergraduate science degree followed by a PhD in Medicine at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in the field of developmental neurobiology. After 4 years of postdoctoral research at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, she returned to Melbourne in 2003 to complete medical training, specializing in psychiatry. She completed basic psychiatry with NorthWestern Mental Health followed by the Advanced Certificate in Addiction Psychiatry and Turning Point, where she then worked as an Addiction Psychiatrist for up until early 2020. She has also worked with the Women's Mental Health team at Royal Women's Hospital including the WADS (Women's Alcohol and Drug Service) team.
She is currently employed as a psychiatrist at Orygen Youth Health at Parkville in the Early Psychosis Stream.
Job Titles:
- Psychiatrist at Turning Point
Dr Daniel Pham is an addiction psychiatrist at Turning Point, currently working across its Statewide Services in Richmond and Turning Point Eastern Treatment Services in Box Hill. He undertook his general psychiatry training at St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne before going on to complete advanced training in addiction psychiatry at Turning Point.
His area of interest includes the treatment of persons with co-occurring addictive and mental disorders including pharmacological, psychological and social intervention modalities.
Job Titles:
- Addiction Medicine Specialist
Dr Ferghal Armstrong graduated from the Queens University Belfast in 1998. He qualified as a General Practitioner in 2003 and worked in his own GP Practice, as an Occupational Health Consultant, and as a GP delivering medical services in prisons.
He moved to Australia in 2014, completing Addiction Medicine training at Eastern Health, Box Hill Hospital, under the auspices of Turning Point Statewide Services, achieving Fellowship of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine (FAChAM) in 2020.
Dr Raymond Chan graduated from the University of Melbourne medical school in 1984; he completed his Masters in Health Studies (Addiction Studies) from Queensland University 2003 and Fellowship of Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine (FAChAM) in 2004.
He has been a DACAS consultant since 2007. His previous clinical appointments include his position as the medical officer at Turning Point and St. Vincent's Drug & Alcohol Department in Melbourne.
Dr Chan is currently appointed as Addiction Medicine Physician at Malvern Private Hospital. He has an interest in pain medicine and addiction. His other current appointments include working in the Pain Medicine Clinic Frankston Hospital (Peninsula Health).
Vicky Phan has experience working across alcohol and other drug and mental health services in both NSW and Victoria, and believes in a holistic and person-centred approach when working with people and their families. Her areas of interest include mental health comorbidity, harm minimisation, pharmacotherapy, training and education.