Prof Charles Parry is a part-time Chief Specialist Scientist in the Mental Health, Alcohol, Substance Use and Tobacco Research Unit (MASTRU) at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). He directed the unit from 2001 to 2024 and was Acting Vice President for Intramural Research (2012–2014).

Trained in clinical/community psychology (MA, PhD) and mathematical statistics (MSc) in South Africa and the USA, he has published over 325 indexed journal articles and co-authored two books on alcohol policy and public health.

His research centers on alcohol and drug epidemiology and policy. He is Co-Principal Investigator on a UK NIHR-funded project on harmful alcohol use in Southern Africa and chairs the SAMRC’s 5-year extramural unit reviews for 2025/26.

Since 2006, he has served on the WHO Expert Panel on Drug Dependence and Alcohol Problems. From 2015, he joined the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Alcohol & Drug Epidemiology (chairing the committee in 2015 and from 2025) and the UNODC Scientific Advisory Committee for the World Drug Report. Between 2023 and 2024, he co-chaired a sub-group of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, and in 2024, joined the Advisory Council of the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA).

Prof Parry holds a National Research Foundation B1 rating (Internationally Acclaimed Researcher – Level 1), received the SAMRC Gold Medal in 2017, and is a member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa and the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Alcohol & Drug Research.