Professor Katja Kuusisto has been elected by the Society as a member of the Coordinating Committee, along with international colleagues, for a fixed term from 2025 to 2029. Members of the coordinating committee work to support the Society’s goals under the leadership of the elected officers. The aim of the Kettil Bruun Society is to promote social and epidemiological research that fosters a comparative understanding of the social aspects of alcohol use and alcohol problems. The Society also aims to promote a spirit of international cooperation.
Kuusisto has participated in Kettil Bruun Society symposia since 2010 and highly values the Society’s role in fostering critical, collaborative, and inclusive alcohol research. She is particularly committed to strengthening interdisciplinary dialogue within the Society and promoting engagement with underrepresented perspectives in alcohol research.
Her academic work centres on the social dimensions of substance use, with particular emphasis on treatment and its effectiveness, youth vulnerability, the service pathways of marginalised populations, as well as alcohol-related harm. Her research often focuses on clients, professionals, and treatment processes – or on various combinations of these dimensions. She is a founding member of the Research Group on Treatment and Addiction (TreAdd), which builds on and advances this tradition. Kuusisto has extensive experience in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research and has contributed to several national and international projects on addiction and recovery. Her research is often carried out in close collaboration with field actors as well as with other addiction scholars, employing a multidisciplinary approach in both domestic and international contexts.
Kuusisto brings substantial experience in academic leadership, conference organisation, and the mentoring of early-career researchers. She is eager to support the Society’s outreach to researchers and practitioners and to ensure that its events and outputs remain globally relevant, methodologically diverse, and socially impactful.