ICADTS Board Members
| Flavio Pechansky, President Elect (Brazil) University of Rio Grande do Sul Flavio Pechansky is Full Professor of Psychiatry, Founder and Director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Research affiliated with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Brazil, and of the Collaborating Center on Alcohol and Drugs of the Hospital de Clinicas of Porto Alegre (HCPA), a large teaching hospital associated with that same university. Dr. Pechansky earned his specialty in Psychiatry, his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Medicine with honors at UFRGS and was trained as a NIDA-funded Hubert H. Humphrey fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, in the Department of Mental Hygiene. He founded and chaired the Addiction Psychiatry Services at HCPA for 8 years and currently is the Chair of the Professional Master’s Program in Mental Health and Addictive Disorders at HCPA. He has worked as an addiction psychiatrist for 34 years, and has trained hundreds of undergraduate, specialty and postgraduate students of medicine, psychology, odontology, biomedicine, and psychiatry. Dr. Pechansky is with the Department of Psychiatry at UFRGS since 1995, was an Associate Visiting Scientist at the University of Kentucky, University of Delaware, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a member of the Impairment in Transportation Committee of the Transportation Research Board, and Member-at-Large of the Board of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety - ICADTS. He has an extensive career in training, consultancy and writing in the field, with more than 200 publications including books, book chapters, editorials, and original papers in Brazilian and international scientific journals in the areas of epidemiology and treatment of alcoholism and drug abuse, adolescent drug and alcohol experimentation, risk behaviors for the transmission of HIV among drug users, and drunk/drugged driving. He has served and is currently a consultant for the Brazilian government and has been a chair/member of more than ten scientific committees of Brazilian and international institutions, as well as editor and member of editorial boards of Brazilian and international scientific journals – among them the Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry and Addiction – of which he was assistant regional editor for 10 years. Currently, Dr. Pechansky is member of the Consulting Group of the National Council on Drug Policies in Brazil, President-Elect of ICADTS, and member of the World Health Organization Technical Advisory Group on Alcohol and Drug Epidemiology, as well as local and Brazilian scientific associations affiliated with psychiatry and drug addiction treatment and research. He has been awarded several prizes for papers published and presented throughout his career, and has an Award of Excellence in International Leadership by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. |
| James C. Fell, Past President (USA)
Mr. Fell is currently a Principal Research Scientist with the National
Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago in the Bethesda,
Maryland office, in the United States. From 2001 to 2015 he was a Senior
Research Scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation
(PIRE) in Calverton, Maryland. Before that, Mr. Fell worked at the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, DC, from 1969 to
1999 and has 54 years of traffic safety and alcohol policy research experience.
He has authored over 170 publications in book chapters, scientific journals and
conference proceedings. He has both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Human
Factors Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Mr. Fell
was awarded the prestigious Widmark award from ICADTS in 2013 and in 2015, Mr.
Fell received the James J. Howard Highway Safety Trailblazer Award from the
Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) for sustained outstanding
leadership in endeavors that significantly improve highway safety. Mr. Fell is
married to Kimberly Fell and has three sons, Todd, Brandon and Donde. He
resides in Annandale, Virginia, USA. |
| Evelyn Vingilis, President Elect (Canada)University of Western Ontario Dr Evelyn Vingilis is Director of the Population and Community Health Unit and Professor with the Departments of Family Medicine, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario in Canada. Previously as Senior Scientist at the Addiction Research Foundation, she directed the Drinking Driving Research Program. She has published on alcohol, drugs and traffic safety. Her recent work has examined the effects of alcohol and medications on subsequent motor vehicle injuries among a representative sample of Canadians, ADHD and driving, and street racing and stunt driving. In the 1980s she was a board member of ICADTS and most recently on the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals. She has been a member, advisor or consultant for many government departments and agencies, such as the Roadside Survey Planning Committee of Ontario; Premier of Ontario’s Task Force on Drinking Driving; New York State Task Force on Drinking and Driving; Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation, TRB. She has been on the organizing and/or scientific committees of various conferences, such as ICADTS; Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety Conference; the Association for Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM); Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International Congress and Exposition for Alcohol, Accidents and Injuries. In 2010, she won the Widmark Award. Dr. Vingilis has also conducted research in other areas, such as criminal justice, at-risk youth, population health, mental health and medical services. |
Eef Theunissen, Secretary (The Netherlands) University of Maastricht Eef Theunissen completed a Masters degree in Biological Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Maastricht. Following her doctoral studies, Eef continued working as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maastricht from 2005 to 2007. Since 2007, she has works as an Assistant Professor in Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology at the same institution. In 2020, she also became a lecturer in the Robert F. Borkenstein Alcohol and Highway Safety Course at Indiana University Bloomington, USA. Eef’s research focuses on psychopharmacology, including clinical and experimental studies, and the effects of medicinal and illicit drugs on human performance. Her expertise extends to pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, driving performance, and the impact of cannabis and cannabinoids. She has led studies examining the effects of antihistamines on driving and psychomotor performance under acute and repeated dosing. Other significant work includes evaluating the effects of Org 50081 and zopiclone on next-day driving ability and psychomotor performance and randomized studies assessing antidepressants on driving and cognitive function. Her research also includes groundbreaking work on the neurocognition and safety of synthetic cannabinoids, particularly JWH-018, and studies on the effects of vaporized Cannabis in cannabis users. |
Stig Tore Bogstrand, Assistant Secretary (Norway) University of Oslo Prof. Bogstrand is and Head of the Section Forensic Research, Dept. for Forensic Sciences, Oslo University Hospital and Professor II at Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo. |
 | Amie Hayley,Treasurer (Australia)Swinburne University Dr Amie Hayley is a Rebecca L. Cooper Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellow at the Centre for Human Psychopharmacology at Swinburne University. She has extensive experience in conducting large-scale psychoactive drug intervention trials, and has expertise in the design, implementation and analysis of driving simulator research with simultaneous eye-monitoring procedures. Her program of work focuses on delineating a novel biochemical-physiological-behavioural pathways relevant to oculomotor function, visual-attentional performance and information processing capabilities under drug conditions to quantify the effect on neurobehaviour. She is currently working with a range of industry partners to develop new technologies capable of detecting and monitoring driver state in real-time to reduce the impact of drug-affected driving. In addition to her role as Assistant Treasurer as part of the International Council on Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS), she is the Founding Chair and leader of the Working Group for Driver State Monitoring Systems (DSMS), and currently manages one of the ICADTS social media channels (Twitter, @Icadtsint). |
Frederick Vinckenbosch, Assistant Treasurer (Belgium) Vias Institute Frederick Vinckenbosch is a Belgian traffic safety researcher at the Vias Institute in Brussels. Frederick earned a BSc in Psychology from Maastricht University in 2014, followed by an MSc in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience (specializing in Neuropsychology) in 2016. His master’s thesis focused on the effects of polypharmacy on traffic safety. He completed his PhD in Experimental Behavioral Toxicology at Maastricht University in 2022 with a dissertation titled “From Dusk Till Yawn: The Assessment of Driving Performance in Clinical Populations at Risk of Drowsy Driving at the Group and Individual Level.” Frederick has also completed advanced training in linear models, R and Python programming, medical and molecular biology, and intravenous cannula insertion for blood sampling. He is certified in Good Clinical Practice and is currently pursuing the University Teaching Qualification program at Maastricht University. His professional interests include psychopharmacology, behavioral toxicology, statistics, data analysis, machine learning, and driver state monitoring systems. |
ICADTS Board Members-at-Large
| Christine Wickens (Canada) Centre for Addiction and Mental Health |
| Denis Cusack (Ireland) Medical Bureau of Road Safety Denis Cusack qualified as a medical doctor from University College Dublin, Ireland and trained in postgraduate clinical medicine in General Internal Medicine & Diabetes / Endocrinology in hospitals in Ireland and Boston, USA. He then qualified as Barrister-at-Law (Advocate) from the Kings Inns, Dublin and practised in the Irish Courts as Barrister, particularly in the area of medical and healthcare law. He also continued in clinical practice in Internal Medicine and developed and continued his medical specialty practice and training in Forensic and Legal Medicine. He is Director (Head) of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, the national forensic intoxicant laboratory for Ireland and Senior Coroner (Death Investigation Judicial Officer) for the District of Kildare in Ireland. He was Lecturer and then Full Professor of Forensic & Legal Medicine at the School of Medicine, University College Dublin 1992 to 2017 and at Penang Medical College, Malaysia 2000 to 2017 and remains as Full Professor Emeritus of Forensic & Legal Medicine at UCD involved in postgraduate teaching and research. He currently serves as President of the European Council of Legal Medicine and Vice-President of the International Academy of Legal Medicine. He serves on a number of expert committees on Road Safety and Forensic Medicine including the National Office for Traffic Medicine and Medical Fitness to Drive Working Group at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Medical Advisory Panel on Alcohol and Drugs for the DVLA in the United Kingdom. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the International Criminal Court. He is Founding Consultant Editor of the MedicoLegal Journal of Ireland; a Past President of the Coroners Society of Ireland; and Past President of the Medico-Legal Society of Ireland. He continues on the Councils of both of those bodies. He is a reviewer for a number of international forensic and other medical journals. His specialist and research interests and publications include forensic medicine, intoxicated driving, road traffic medicine, forensic death investigation, medico-legal issues in healthcare practice and medical ethics and professionalism. Qualifications and most recent relevant published research: MB BCh BAO (Hons.): University College Dublin; FRCPI: Fellow of the Royal College Physicians of Ireland; FFFLM; Foundation Fellow of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine, Royal College of Physicians London; FCLM: Fellow of the (American) College of Legal Medicine; FCIArb; Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London; and Barrister-at-Law (Hons.): Kings Inns, Dublin. |
Sjoerd Houwing (The Netherlands) Dutch Road Safety Institute Dr. Sjoerd Houwing has been researcher at SWOV, the Dutch Road Safety Institute, for 15 years and is currently senior product manager at CBR, the Dutch Driver License Agency. In 2013, he obtained his PhD on estimating the risk of driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol and medicines. Furthermore, he is a member of several working groups in the field of drink and drug driving. |
Tara Casanova Powell (USA) ATSIP Tara Casanova Powell is a leading traffic safety expert with extensive experience in research, program management, and policy development. Since 2021, she has been a Research Consultant for Acusensus, leveraging innovative technology to document risky driving behaviors like distraction, speed, impairment, and seatbelt non-use. As Program Coordinator for Lifesavers Inc. since 2020, Tara oversees the Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities, webinar series, and the Traffic Safety Scholars Program, managing content for over 2,000 participants. Tara has served as CEO of the Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals (ATSIP) since 2019, where she manages organizational policies, operations, and the Traffic Records Forum. She is also the founder of Casanova Powell Consulting, focusing on designing and evaluating traffic safety programs addressing impaired driving, distracted driving, and pedestrian safety, among other critical issues. From 2017 to 2021, she led a project with the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety to integrate traffic safety into employer wellness programs. As a consultant for the Governors Highway Safety Association since 2017, she provides tailored support to states for traffic safety initiatives and data system evaluations. Tara also serves as Faculty for All Rise, supporting the implementation of effective DWI court programs. Previously, she was Director of Research at TIRF USA (2015–2017), managing strategic plans, research projects, and stakeholder partnerships. At Preusser Research Group (1998–2015), she rose from Research Associate to Senior Research Associate, leading evaluations of national and state traffic safety initiatives. Her research includes projects on ignition interlock compliance, rideshare services' impact on DUI incidents, and under- and over-reporting of impaired driving behaviors. She chaired the 2021 TRB Drug-Impaired Driving Virtual Conference and has been an expert panelist for TRB programs, providing insights on distracted driving legislation and crash reporting methodologies. Tara’s work demonstrates her commitment to reducing risky driving behaviors and advancing traffic safety through innovation and collaboration. |
Operational roles
| Edward Ogden, Website Manager (Australia)Swinburne University of TechnologyProfessor Ogden is a medical practitioner consulting in forensic medicine and a specialist practitioner in addiction medicine at Austin Health, Melbourne and Goulburn Valley Health in rural Victoria. He is Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University. His interest in road safety follows 33 years’ association with Victoria Police, including seven years as a full-time Forensic Physician and 17 years as Principal Medical Advisor. His research interests include the effects of alcohol and other drugs on human performance. He was instrumental in setting up the Swinburne Centre for Drugs and Driving. That research team has completed numerous simulated driving studies on the effects of drugs including cannabis, methamphetamine, dexamphetamine, MDMA (‘Ecstasy’), and temazepam alone and in combination with alcohol. his current research interest involves assessing drivers with substance misuse history to return to driving.He has previously been Secretary of ICADTS. |
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| The ICADTS Reporter editorial team: Dr Brooke Manning is the primary contact for editorial matters and currently serves as Editor of the ICADTS Reporter. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on the neurocognitive and bio-behavioural effects of psychoactive substances, particularly medicinal cannabis. She utilises eye-tracking technology to identify objective markers of driver impairment. She is also a member of the ICADTS Driver Monitoring Systems Working Group. Associate Professor Amie Hayley supports the editorial team of the ICADTS Reporter. She is an international leader in impaired driving research and the application of intelligent technologies to reduce road trauma. She leads the ICADTS Working Group for Driver Monitoring Systems, and is the elected Treasurer of ICADTS. She is also the inaugural Future Leader Fellow of the Australasian College of Road Safety. Dr Blair Aitken, serves as a supporting editor for the ICADTS Reporter. He is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. His work investigates the impact of recreational drugs and prescription medications on cognition, gaze behaviour, and driving performance. He is also a member of the ICADTS Working Group on Driver Monitoring Systems. We warmly welcome additional contributors to join the editorial team. If you're interested in supporting the ICADTS Reporter, please get in touch with Dr Brooke Manning (bmanning@swin.edu.au). |
© 2020 ICADTS
The International Council on Alcohol, Drugs & Traffic Safety.
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