Heads: Dr. phil. Kenneth M. Dürsteler, Prof. Dr. med. Marc Vogel and Dr. med. Maximilian Meyer

Our research group is primarily addressing issues arising from our day-to-day work with people suffering from addiction and their comorbid disorders. Our projects apply both quantitative and qualitative methods and aim to achieve real improvements in treatment options. It is important to us to integrate the perspectives of our patients into our research. We have several areas of focus:

1. Opioid-assisted treatment of people with opioid dependence (opioid agonist therapy, OAT), in particular heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) with diacetylmorphine.
2. Treatment of cocaine dependence.
3. Treatment of behavioural addictions.

In addition, we also investigate cannabis use and regulation and the use of psychedelics in addiction medicine. We offer both dissertations and master's theses in the fields of medicine, psychology and pharmacy. If you are interested, please contact us.

Ongoing projects

• Nasal administration of diacetylmorphine for the treatment of opioid dependence
• Pharmacokinetics and dynamics of nasally administered diacetylmorphine
• Qualitative study on patient experiences in nasal OAT
• Qualitative study on diversion of diacetylmorphine in heroin-assisted treatment
• Comparative surveys on procedures and standards in injectable OAT in Switzerland and worldwide
• Retrospective evaluation of emergency contacts and inpatient hospital stays in HAT
• Changes in attitudes towards HAT before and after merging services with oral OAT
• Substitution for cocaine addiction: Attitudes among clients and staff in harm reduction institutions
• Neuropsychological follow-up studies and craving in OAT
• Comparative studies on the side effect profile of various opioid agonists
• Loneliness and influencing factors in OAT
• Comorbidity profiles in various behavioural addictions
• Studies in connection with the Weedcare study on the regulated dispensing of cannabis in Basel pharmacies

Heads

Dr. phil. Kenneth M. Dürsteler, Senior Psychologist, Center for Addiction Disorders (kenneth.duersteler@upk.ch); 061 325 51 25

• Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenneth-Duersteler-Macfarland

Prof. Dr. med. Marc Vogel, Chief Physician, Center for Addiction Disorders (marc.vogel@upk.ch); 061 325 51 30

• Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marc-Vogel-2?ev=hdr_xprf
• ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3088-0331

Dr. med. Maximilian Meyer, Senior Physician, Center for Addiction Disorders (maximilian.meyer@upk.ch); 061 325 54 24

• Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maximilian-Meyer-11

• ORCID: 0000-0003-1183-1195

Team members

Adrian Guessoum (adrian.guessoum@upk.ch)
Dr. med. Elias Kraus (elias.kraus@upk.ch)
Lisa Luchner (lisa.luchner@upk.ch)
Dr. med. Martin Meyer (martin.meyer@upk.ch),
Dr. med. Felix Mosandl (felix.mosandl@upk.ch)
Jean Westenberg

Postgraduates

Sunsha Chamakalayil
Constanze Dammann
Valerie Gitzi
Anouk Janke
Franka Mahler
Francesca Mosar
Eriks Strazdins
Konstantinos Vlachos
Zacharias Wicki

Postgraduates

Philip Dällenbach
Jonathan Fiore