I am honoured to have been awarded the 2024 Fred Yates Prize for contributions to the field of addiction and am very grateful to the SSA for all their support over the course of my career, including the SSA Fellowship which has enabled me to do my research. Thanks so much also to Professor Ann McNeill and the Nicotine Research Group for the nomination. It is really wonderful to join the stellar list of previous Fred Yates Prize winners and I can only hope my future research trajectory is as spectacular as theirs!
Dr Katie East, Department of Addictions Sciences, King’s IoPPN
13 May 2024
Dr Katie East awarded the Fred Yates Prize for Early Career Researchers
Presented by the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA), Dr Katie East was recognised for her outstanding contribution, predominantly in nicotine product use and perceptions.
President of the SSA, Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, announced earlier this month that Dr Katie East, Research Fellow based in the Department of Addictions Sciences within the IoPPN, is the recipient of the 2024 Fred Yates Prize. The prestigious annual award recognises researchers in the earlier stages of their career who have made a significant and specific contribution to the addictions field in recent years.
Dr East is an SSA-funded research fellow who has a track record of disseminating findings to key stakeholders and contributing to policy development, including through the publication of over 50 academic articles in respected journals. Katie’s career has demonstrated a real impact including informing policy around plain packaging for e-cigarettes and informing youth vaping policies.
As part of her work, Katie has disseminated and communicated important findings to government organisations, including the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department of Health and Social Care, and key stakeholders such as the British Youth Council and Action on Smoking and Health. She is also Associate Editor for the journal, Addiction, co-chair of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s Policy Research Network, and on the organising committees of the SSA’s PhD Symposium and Early Career Research Network.
The SSA prize was created in honour of Fred Yates, whose work made a lasting impression on the field and an important contribution to the welfare of those with alcohol and drug problems. The prize winner receives £2,000 and a certificate and is invited to present their research at the SSA’s Annual Conference.
Dr Katie East will present her work in a special session at the Society for the Study of Addiction Annual Conference, which will be held on 14th and 15th November in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
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Research Fellow