Peter D'Abbs Email & Phone Number

I'm a sociologist with a long-standing interest and experience in policy-related research and evaluation. In recent decades my research has focused on alcohol-related issues and, to a lesser extent, other drug issues. I'm currently Professor of Substance Misuse Studies at Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin and Brisbane, and Professorial Research Fellow, School of Public Health, University of Queensland. From 2001 to 2010 I was a member of the Board of Directors of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AERF, subsequently renamed Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, or FARE). In 2007 I was placed on the Honour Roll of the National Drug and Alcohol Awards for my research into substance misuse in remote and regional settings. I am a member of the Editorial Board of Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy, and a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Alcohol Working Group, established in 2016 to review and update the NHMRC guidelines for low risk drinking. Recent research projects include a national evaluation of the rollout and impact of low aromatic fuel in Australian Aboriginal communities as a deterrent to petrol sniffing, and evaluations of Alcohol Management Plans in several regional towns in the Northern Territory.My second major interest is studying Chinese language and culture. I recently completed a Master's thesis entitled Art as Everyday Practice: A Study of Gongfu Tea in Chaoshan, China. The subject of the study - a refined way of preparing and drinking tea known as gongfu tea - has been taken up as a form of contemporary tea art throughout China and internationally, but is an everyday practice in its region of origin in southeastern China. In the study, I examine the place of gongfu tea in a changing, consumer-oriented society.

Listed skills include Social Policy Research, Qualitative Research, and Program Evaluation.

• 

  Professor, Substance Misuse Studies

  Menzies School Of Health Research

  Jun 2009 - Present - Brisbane, Australia