Jo-Hanna is an Associate Professor in Addiction. She holds the only academic post on addiction-specific issues in Ireland. She is the first Associate Dean of Civic Engagement for Socital Innovation at Trinity College Dublin. Jo-Hanna leads the Neurobehavioural Addiction Research Group at the Department of Public Health & Primary Care, School of Medicine. She is the Director of the M.Sc. in Addiction Recovery. She has been appointed by a number of Ministers and Government Representatives to Special Taskforces and Expert Review Groups examining drug and alcohol use. She is a Member of the European Monitoring Centre on Drug and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Scientific Committee.    

Jo-Hanna's research focuses on the biological, social and environmental factors that contribute to an individual's vulnerability to dependence and addiction. Her research includes interventions, policies and practices that help develop recovery pathways. These pathways are best understood as a spectrum and include harm reduction, abstinence and long-term recovery. Her populations of interest include people who use drugs, those experiencing addiction, individuals in recovery, their families, communities affected by drug use and wider members of society. Before returning to academia, Jo-Hanna gained extensive experience working with adolescent and adult populations in specialist addiction services.

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