
Kat Petrilli
Research Associate
Biography
Kat Petrilli began working as a postdoctoral research associate at King's College London in September 2024. They work with Professor Sir John Strang in the Policy Research Unit in Addictions conducting research focused on enhancing the knowledge, access, and distribution of naloxone, a potentially life-saving medication for opioid overdoses.
In addition to their role at the Policy Research Unit in Addictions, Kat is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Previously, they worked with Professor Val Curran, Dr. Tom Freeman, and Dr. Will Lawn at the Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit at UCL. There, they worked as a Research Assistant on the 'CannTeen' project, which investigated the acute and chronic effects of cannabis in adolescents. Their areas of expertise include cannabis, addiction, opioids and naloxone, and alcohol use.
Kat holds a BSc in Neuroscience from King’s College London, an MRes in Cognitive Neuroscience from University College London, and completed their PhD in the Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM) at the University of Bath, supervised by Dr. Tom Freeman and Dr. Lindsey Hines. Their thesis is titled “Cannabis, Mental Health, and Addiction: Methodological and Epidemiological Advances.”
Research interests:
- Cannabis
- Opioid use and overdose prevention
- Alcohol
- Harm reduction
- Health inequalities
- Drugs and alcohol policy
Research

NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions
Addictive products, behaviours and systems
Research

NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions
Addictive products, behaviours and systems