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Dr Martyn Symons

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Martyn trained as a Cognitive Scientist studying psychology, neuroscience and computer science including machine learning. He has worked across many areas of alcohol and drug research including prevention, treatment, monitoring, policy and epidemiology. Martyn has had extensive experience with designing and conducting surveys and interviews and has recently been applying co-design principles. He has also worked in remote Aboriginal communities.

Martyn also loves working with data including management, cleaning, statistical analysis including machine learning, and reporting.

In recent years Martyn has been working to form collaborations at state, national, and international level to investigate: prevention of alcohol and drug exposed pregnancies using an adapted long-term case-managed outreach program (Parent-Child Assistance Program) called Nurturing Families with Women's Health and Family Services; and investigating the use of epigenetics as a biomarker of alcohol exposure during pregnancy; among other things.

He has recently returned to NDRI in a demand-driven research position in collaboration with the WA Mental Health Commission. This position involves research relevant to the operations of the commission including helping to streamline and automate processes in the liquor licensing team, providing summaries of the current state of knowledge in policy areas relevant to alcohol access including trading hours, density, etc. and also alcohol use and harms.

Qualifications
  • PhD Computational Psychology, Medicine, University of Queensland
Expertise and Research Interests
  • Alcohol, prevention, treatment, policy FASD, pregnancy, machine learning
Current Projects
Completed Projects
NDRI Publications

Bestry, M., Larcombe, A., Kresoje, N., Chivers, E., K., Bakker, C., Fitzpatrick, J., Elliott, E., Craig, J., Muggli, E., Halliday, J., Hutchinson, D., Buckberry, S., Lister, R., Symons, M. and Martino, D. (2024). Early moderate prenatal alcohol exposure and maternal diet impact offspring DNA methylation across species. eLife, 12. doi:10.7554/eLife.92135 [RJ2198] View web page

Bestry, M., Symons, M., Larcombe, A., Muggli, E., Craig, J., Hutchinson, D., Halliday, J. and Martino, D. (2022). Association of prenatal alcohol exposure with offspring DNA methylation in mammals: a systematic review of the evidence. Clinical Epigenetics, 14, (1), pp. 12. doi:10.1186/s13148-022-01231-9 [RJ1854] View web page

Gilmore, W., Symons, M., Liang, W., Graham, K., Kypri, K., Miller, P., G. and Chikritzhs, T., N. (2022). Association between bar closing time, alcohol use disorders and blood alcohol concentration: A cross-sectional observational study of nightlife-goers in Perth, Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, (7026). doi:10.3390/ijerph19127026 [RJ1888] View web page

Tan, K., Y., Pestell, C., F., Fitzpatrick, J., Cross, D., Adams, I. and Symons, M. (2022). Exploring Offending Characteristics of Young People with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Western Australia. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. pp. 1-22. doi:10.1080/13218719.2022.2059028 [RJ1815] View web page

Tan, K., Y., Symons, M., Cross, D., Fitzpatrick, J., Adams, I. and Pestell, C., F. (2022). An exploratory study on the role of criminogenic risk factors and informant-rated everyday executive functioning in predicting the age of offending onset in young people with FASD. Forensic Science International: Mind and Law, 3. doi:10.1016/j.fsiml.2022.100109 [RJ1995] View web page

Tucker, D., Symons, M., Clifton, E., Ramirez, M., Fitzpatrick, J., Walker, R., Pearson, G., Gray, M., Kirby, G. and McBride, N. (2022). Assessing The Validity Of A Culturally Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire For Use In Aboriginal Communities. Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 3, (4). doi:10.14221/aihjournal.v3n4.3 [RJ1754] View web page

Gilmore, W., Symons, M., Liang, W., Graham, K., Kypri, K., Miller, P., G. and Chikritzhs, T., N. (2021). Association between nightlife goers’ likelihood of an alcohol use disorder and their preferred bar’s closing time: A cross-sectional observational study in Perth, Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, (24). doi:10.3390/ijerph182413040 [RJ1829] View web page

Stearne, A., Allsop, S., Shakeshaft, A., P., Symons, M. and Wright, M. (2021). Identifying how the principles of self-determination could be applied to create effective alcohol policy for First Nations Australians: synthesising the lessons from the development of general public policy. International Journal of Drug Policy, 95, pp. 103260:1-12. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103260 [RJ1636] View web page

Symons, M., Tucker, D., Bruce, K., Stearne, A., Kogolo, A., Carter, M., Oscar, J., Pearson, G. and Fitzpatrick, J. (2021). The Development and Implementation of a Culturally Safe Survey for Measuring Knowledge, Attitudes and Values around FASD and Alcohol Use During Pregnancy in a Remote Australian Aboriginal Community Setting. Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin, 2, (3). doi:10.14221/aihjournal.v2n3.2 [T293] View web page

Roarty, L., Wildy, H., Saggers, S., Wilson, M. and Symons, M. (2014). What difference does treatment make? Developing a qualitative measure of young people's progress in residential rehabilitation: final report. National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. ISBN: 978-0-9873641-5-9 [T230] Download PDF

Symons, M., Gray, D., Chikritzhs, T., N., Skov, S., J., Saggers, S., Boffa, J. and Low, J. (2012). A longitudinal study of influences on alcohol consumption and related harm in Central Australia: with a particular emphasis on the role of price. National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. ISBN: 978-0-9873641-0-4 [T220] Download PDF

External Publications

No non-NDRI publications available