John Toumbourou
Role and profile
Professor Toumbourou is the Associate Dean (Partnerships and Workplace), in the Faculty of Health and the Professor and Chair in Health Psychology within the School of Psychology at Deakin University. He is an Associate Director of the Deakin Strategic Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research and a prominent social advocate in areas related to child and adolescent mental health promotion and the prevention of alcohol and drug problems. He plays a leadership role in assisting the development of partnerships and research capacity within the School and Faculty. He teaches at postgraduate level and also supervises higher degree students. Professor Toumbourou has been influential internationally and nationally in assisting the development of research and practice in the fields of prevention science and health psychology. He has received international awards for his contributions in these areas and has been influential in reshaping Australian health policies to more effectively address adolescent alcohol misuse and related problems. Teaching responsibilities
Unit Chair HPS947 and Deputy Chair HPS767, HPS787, HPS785, HPS792 8 PhD students Research interests
Professor Toumbourou is an active researcher and the Associate Director of the Strategic Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research. He leads research teams that are engaged in major longitudinal and international studies exploring healthy youth development. His research interests include drug abuse prevention, evaluation, and the role of community, family and peer groups in adolescent health promotion. He has published over 210 articles and 90 referred journal papers and has been a major contributor to Deakin University competitive research grant income. He plays a prominent role in disseminating prevention research and in this capacity serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Communities That Care Ltd, a not-for-profit company under the auspice of the Royal Children’s Hospital and collaborating with the Rotary Club of Melbourne to increase prevention science capacity for communities across Australia.
Awards and prizes
In 2011 Professor Toumbourou was appointed to the International Task Force for the Society for Prevention Research, the major professional group responsible for substance abuse and crime prevention in the US. In 2009 he received the Award of Distinction from the College of Health Psychologists within the Australian Psychological Society. His research was cited by the National Health and Medical Research Council in their decision to amend Australian guidelines to recommend that adolescents abstain from alcohol use prior to age 18. In 2007 he was invited by the Lancet (a high impact medical journal) to lead an international expert review of interventions to reduce harmful youth alcohol and drug use. In 2006 he received the award for International Collaborative Research from the Society for Prevention Research. He retains an honorary appointment as a Senior Research Fellow within the Murdoch Children's Research Institute at the Centre for Adolescent Health (Royal Children’s Hospital).
Memberships
Australian Psychological Society Society for Prevention Research Australian Research Alliance for Children and Young People (Co-Leader Prevention Science Network) Psychology Advisory Group on Youth Road Safety Victorian Ministry for Roads and Ports (2009/10) Service to the University, discipline or community
Professor Toumbourou participates in a range of Departmental, Faculty and University committees:• Academic Board • Faculty Executive Group (Faculty of Health) • Faculty Board (Faculty of Health) • Associate Director Strategic Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research He is a founding member and the ex-Chair of the College of Health Psychologists within the Australian Psychological Society. Conferences
• In 2011 he presented to state-wide meetings in Western Australia convened by the Drug and Alcohol Office and his presentation to the Western Australia State Parliament Education and Health Standing Committee was influential in shaping their recommendations to introduce extended restrictions on the supply of alcohol use prior to age 21.• Professor Toumbourou has made prominent national media appearances detailing the research demonstrating the adverse impact of adolescent alcohol use on healthy brain development, featuring on the ABC 'Whatever the Science of Teens' and 'Catalyst' series and in other television, radio and print media. His advocacy has been influential in revising national health policies. |
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9th November 2012