Assoc Prof Tara Carney is employed as a Specialist Scientist in the Mental Health, Alcohol, Substance Use and Tobacco Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council.

She has a PhD from Psychiatry and Mental Health Department from the University of Cape Town, where she is an honorary associate professor and teaches various postgraduate courses.

She has been involved in substance abuse projects funded by NICHD, NIAAA, NIDA, and PEPFAR-funded project on drugs and HIV in Southern Africa, and is current the South African lead on three large internationally funded studies.

She is an associate editor for PLOS Global Health, as well as  BMC Public Health.

Her research interests include the relationship between substance use and infectious disease, as well as biobehavioural interventions for substance use and mental health among adolescents and young people.