Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Associate Professor Jennifer Schumann is Head of the Drug Intelligence Unit at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and lecturer in Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Pharmacology (2006) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Forensic Medicine (2011) from Monash University. She is a forensic pharmacologist and toxicologist, with nearly two decades experience interpreting the involvement of alcohol and other drugs in death.
Jennifer’s research examines the harms associated with drugs in the community to inform Australian public health policy and practice, with a particular focus on addiction, misuse and overdose of pharmaceutical and illicit substances. She utilises her experience in Forensic Toxicology and Public Health research to draw information from numerous different clinical and post-mortem data sources, providing translational research pertinent to current Australian trends in drug use.
In 2014, Jennifer was a visiting postdoctoral researcher at the Karolinska Institute and National Board of Forensic Medicine, Sweden, and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris, supported by a Victoria Fellowship and an Australian French Association for Science and Technology Fellowship. Jennifer is an Associate Investigator on the NHMRC funded project, the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia (EDNA), a novel toxicosurveillance project contributing to a national Early Warning System, as well as Forensic Lead on the state based project, EDNA-Victoria (EDNAV). She has received a number of awards and travel grants in recognition of her research, including a prestigious 2019 Churchill Fellowship.
Jennifer is Vice President of the Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association (FACTA) and Editor of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT) Bulletin. She is also a Theme Leader at the Monash Addiction Research Centre (MARC), an Adviser for Pill Testing Australia, and Chair of the FACTA Drug Checking Committee, which produced the first guideline for best practice in analytical drug checking. She has published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature, has presented her research at conferences throughout the world, and has a strong record of prior collaboration with clinical and forensic researchers throughout the world. She is a PhD supervisor and a scientific journal reviewer for some of the top ranked international journals in substance abuse and legal medicine. Jennifer’s research has featured throughout the Australian media, including numerous podcasts and interviews on radio and television. Her research has stimulated public debate, engaged media and been directly responsible for changes in Australian policy and practice.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Forensic Toxicology, PhD(Med), The toxicology of serotonergic drugs and pharmacogenetics in sudden death, MONASH UNIVERSITY
2007 → 2011
Award Date: 19 Jul 2011
Pharmacology, BSc(Hons), MONASH UNIVERSITY
2002 → 2006
External positions
Head, Drug Intelligence Unit, Victorian Insititute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) (Victoria)
Nov 2018 → …
Research area keywords
- Addiction
- Drugs
- Toxicology
- Preventive Medicine
- Public health
- Overdose
- Forensic medicine
- Driving Behaviour
- prescription drug
- Illicit drugs testing
- Intentional injury prevention
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Data Register of In-Depth Motorcycle and Motorised Small-Wheeled Vehicle Fatal Crash Characteristics and Contributing Factors – A Proof of Concept Study
Sarkar, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Grzebieta, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bugeja, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Schumann, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bassed, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ozanne-Smith AO, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Olivier, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Lennard, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
19/03/25 → 31/01/27
Project: Research
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Health service and medicine utilisation before suicide: optimising suicide prevention using population-based linkage of routinely collected data
Chitty, K. M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Schumann, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Schaffer, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Cairns, R. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/07/19 → 30/06/22
Project: Research
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The involvement of alcohol in Australian coroners’ suicide cases
Schumann, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Chitty, K. M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
11/08/16 → 11/12/16
Project: Research
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An analysis of offence patterns and legal response to one-punch fatalities in Australia
Sarkar, R., Duncan, H., Bassed, R., Drummer, O. H., Roodenburg, A. & Schumann, J. L., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Medicine, Science and the Law. 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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An intoxication involving 2-methyl AP-237 and AP-238 from Victoria, Australia: Case report
Maplesden, J., Greene, S., Syrjanen, R., Di Rago, M. & Schumann, J., Jan 2024, In: Drug Testing and Analysis. 16, 1, p. 93-98 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Other › peer-review
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A retrospective review of methylamphetamine detected in child deaths reported to the Victorian Coroner, Australia
Mantinieks, D., Parsons, S., Schumann, J., Drummer, O. H., Crump, K., Baber, Y., Archer, M. & Gerostamoulos, D., Dec 2024, In: Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. 20, 4, p. 1261–1267 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals
Santamarina, R., Caldicott, D., Fitzgerald, J. & Schumann, J. L., Jan 2024, In: International Journal of Drug Policy. 123, 8 p., 104274.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
Quantitative analysis of tetrahydrocannabinol isomers and other toxicologically relevant drugs in blood
Mantinieks, D., Di Rago, M., Drummer, O. H., Glowacki, L., Schumann, J. L. & Gerostamoulos, D., Oct 2024, In: Drug Testing and Analysis. 16, 10, p. 1102-1112 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access3 Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
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Australian French Association for Science and Technology (AFAS) Fellowship
Schumann, Jennifer (Recipient), 2013
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists Travel Award
Schumann, J. (Recipient), 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Activities
- 1 Other
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Perpetrator characteristics in One Punch assaults in Australia
Reena Sarkar (Speaker), Jennifer Schumann (Supervisor), Richard Bassed (Supervisor), Olaf Drummer (Mentor) & Hayley Duncan (Discussant)
2020 → 2022Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Other