Shaun Shelly is dedicated to understanding drug use, the rights of people who use drugs, and the development of effective drug policy. He brings academic, programmatic, research, clinical and lived experience together into a 360 degree-view of the complex issues that inform our understanding and response to the use of certain drugs and the people that use them.

Shaun is the Human Rights and Policy lead at TB/HIV Care, where he founded SA Drug Policy Week. He holds a post as a researcher at the University of Pretoria, Department of Family Medicine, and is the former Deputy Secretary of the United Nations VNGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs. He is a co-founder and chairperson of SANPUD, and sits on several boards and advisory groups, locally and internationally.

Shaun was awarded the 2016 SASOP Special Achievement Award for advancing psychiatry based on his notable contribution in advocating for positive change in the field of addictions, addressing the stigma and difficult socioeconomic circumstances associated with addiction, as well as his contributions in lecturing and ongoing research. He was a 2016 Open Society Drug Policy Fellow and has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on subjects ranging from police culture to the neurobiology of dependent drug use.