His expertise lies in the epidemiology and classification of mental health and substance use disorders where he focuses not only on the cross-sectional epidemiology of mental and substance use disorders but also on examination of the longitudinal and developmental course of mental and substance use disorders, with the particular aim of identifying the patterns of and risk factors for the emergence of these highly prevalent and disabling disorders. A/Prof Slade leads the CRE epidemiology stream and is also a Chief Investigator on a number of CRE research grants.