I graduated in psychology in 1981, and underwent postgraduate training in counselling and teaching in adult education. I began work as a counsellor of drug users in 1984, and have worked continually in the substance misuse field since then. My Phd research examined psychological aspects of heroin withdrawal, and I have published research widely on various aspects of substance misuse since completing my doctoral thesis. My interests focus more on the psychobiological aspects of substnce misuse than the social aspects. I was made a Reader in Psychology at Edge Hill University in 2006, and a professor in January 2012. I am currently the chair of the BPS Psychobiology Section, having been first elected to that position in 2008.