Shelley J. Walker

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  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Justice Health, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University

Shelley is a social science researcher with appointments at the National Drug Research Institute (Curtin University) and Burnet Institute. Shelley is a recent recipient of an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award, focused on the young people and experiences of police custody detention. She has a background in nursing, community development, youth work and international development and extensive experience in qualitative research in both Australia and internationally. Her work is aimed at understanding people’s experiences of drug use, incarceration, and criminal justice involvement, to inform policies and practices that improve their health and wellbeing. Shelley is passionate about human rights and social justice issues and the translation of research into outcomes for the empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised communities.

Experience

  • 2022–present
    ARC DECRA Fellow, National Drug Research Institute
  • 2020–2023
    Research Fellow, Burnet Institute
  • 2020–2021
    Research Fellow, United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime and WHO
  • 2014–2020
    Research Assistant, Burnet Institute
  • 2020–2020
    Australian Postgraduate Intern, Burnet Institute
  • 2011–2012
    Research Assistant, University of Melbourne

Education

  • 2020 
    National Drug Research Institute Curtin University, Doctor of Philosophy
  • 2012 
    University of Melbourne, Masters in Primary Health Care
  • 1999 
    Deakin University, Bachelor of Arts (Community Development)

Publications

  • 2025
    Disproportionate, differential and targeted treatment: People who use drugs’ experiences of policing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Health and Justice
  • 2024
    “No-one just does drugs during business hours!”: Evaluation of 24/7 primary needle & syringe program in St Kilda, Australia, Harm Reduction Journal
  • 2024
    Co-designing the INHSU Prisons Hepatitis C Advocacy Toolkit using the Advocacy Strategy Framework, international Journal of Drug Policy
  • 2024
    Using ethno-epidemiology in a prospective observational study to increase the rigour of nested qualitative research, International Journal of Qualitative Methods
  • 2024
    Barriers and advocacy needs for hepatitis C services in prisons: Informing the prisons hepatitis C advocacy toolkit. , international Journal of Drug Policy
  • 2023
    Experiences of kinship and connection to family for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young men with histories of incarceration, Journal of Australian Indigenous InfoNet
  • 2023
    Police custody in Australia: A call for transparency and accountability., ANZJPH
  • 2023
    Socioeconomic consequences of the COVID‐19 pandemic for people who use drugs, Australian Journal of Social Issues
  • 2022
    More than saving lives: Qualitative findings of the UNODC/WHO ‘Stop Overdose Safely’ (S-O-S) project, IJDP
  • 2022
    Reflections on the in-prison recruitment and participation of men with a history of injecting drug use, in a longitudinal cohort study in Australia, Journal of Criminology
  • 2021
    “It’s time!”: A qualitative exploration of the acceptability of hepatitis C notification systems to help eliminate hepatitis C, IJDP
  • 2019
    “That’s the lowest place on earth!”: Experiences of the carceral spaces of police custody for young men with histories of injecting drug use, in Australia, Qualitative Health Research
  • 2019
    Understanding HIV and HCV risk amongst incarcerated young men with injecting drug use histories, Lancet Infectious Diseases
  • 2019
    “They just don’t care about us!”: Police custody experiences for young men with histories of injecting drug use, ANZJoC
  • 2019
    “A spray bottle and lollipop stick”: A critical examination of policy prohibiting sterile injecting equipment in prison and effects on young men who inject drugs, IJDP
  • 2018
    Narratives of young men with injecting drug use histories leaving adult prison, Int J Offender therapy and Comparative Criminology
  • 2018
    “I lost me visits”: A critical examination of prison drug policy and its effects on connection to family for incarcerated young men with histories of Injecting drug use, Contem Drug Problems
  • 2015
    It’s always just there in your face’: Young people’s views on porn, Sexual Health
  • 2013
    Sexting: Young women’s and men’s views on its nature and origins, Journal of Adolescent Health
  • 2011
    Sexting and young people: Experts’ Views, Youth Studies Australia

Grants and Contracts

  • 2025
    Substance Use Support in Transition from Prison for Women
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    MRFF
  • 2025
    Unlocking health: Utilising linked administrative data for improving outcomes among people incarcerated in Victoria
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Alcohol and Other Drug Research Innovation Agenda
  • 2023
    Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA)
    Role:
    Principle Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council

Professional Memberships

  • Australia and New Zealand Society of Criminology
  • Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol & other Drugs
  • Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association Inc:

Research Areas

  • Criminology (1602)
  • Public Health And Health Services (1117)
  • Human Rights And Justice Issues (220104)

Contact Shelley for

  • Media request
  • Research collaboration