Overview
Background
Carmen is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research. Her research seeks to understand why young people start using substances and develop strategies that advance public health.
Her work spans four key areas:
(1) Youth vaping and social media, where she examines trends and the influence of social media on youth vaping; (2) Cannabis and regulation, investigating industry marketing practices and compliance with regulatory guidelines; (3) International comparisons and equity - developing culturally appropriate prevention and harm reduction strategies to address substance use in diverse contexts; (4) Substance use and mental health - exploring the links between substance use and mental health conditions.
Through her research, Carmen aims to generate evidence that informs policy, guides prevention and harm reduction efforts, and support healthier futures for young people. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in addiction and mental health (Google Scholar: >10K citations, h-index = 43, 31% output in top 10% citation percentile).
Carmen holds qualifications in biostatistics, public health and epidemiology. She has experiences in teaching and mentoring students from diverse demographic and cultural background, and welcomes self-driven, curious students with interest in public health, psychology, epidemiology, or statistics to join her team.
Availability
- Dr Carmen Lim is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy of Psychology, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Substance Use
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Harm reduction
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Mental health
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Digital advertising
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Biostatistics
Research impacts
My research focuses on why young people start using substances such as e-cigarettes, cannabis, and alcohol, and how we can reduce the harms that follow. By combining survey data with innovative tools like social media analysis, I provide early evidence that helps communities, schools, and policymakers respond to emerging challenges.
This work has informed national discussions and inquiries on youth vaping, contributed to World Health Organization reports, and supported the development of harm reduction program internationally.
Beyond academia, I share findings widely through media outlets like The Conversation and national radio interviews, making evidence accessible to the broader community and ensuring it reaches those who can use it to drive change.
Works
Search Professor Carmen Lim’s works on UQ eSpace
2021
Journal Article
Prevalence of adolescent cannabis vaping: a systematic review and meta-analysis of US and Canadian studies
Lim, Carmen C. W., Sun, Tianze, Leung, Janni, Chung, Jack Y. C., Gartner, Coral, Connor, Jason, Hall, Wayne, Chiu, Vivian, Stjepanovic, Daniel and Chan, Gary C. K. (2021). Prevalence of adolescent cannabis vaping: a systematic review and meta-analysis of US and Canadian studies. JAMA Pediatrics, 176 (1), 42-51. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.4102
2021
Conference Publication
Prevalence of illicit substances in personal vaporisers on online cryptomarkets
Lim, Miss Carmen, Leung, Janni, Connor, Jason, Hall, Wayne, Cheng, Brandon, Gartner, Coral, Scheurer, Roman and Chan, Gary (2021). Prevalence of illicit substances in personal vaporisers on online cryptomarkets. IEA World Congress of Epidemiology 2021, Virtual, 3-6 September 2021. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyab168.389
2021
Journal Article
Content analysis of cannabis vaping videos on YouTube
Lim, Carmen C. W., Leung, Janni, Chung, Jack Yiu Chak, Sun, Tianze, Gartner, Coral, Connor, Jason, Hall, Wayne, Chiu, Vivian, Tisdale, Calvert, Stjepanović, Daniel and Chan, Gary (2021). Content analysis of cannabis vaping videos on YouTube. Addiction, 116 (9), 2443-2453. doi: 10.1111/add.15424
2021
Journal Article
Reactions on Twitter towards Australia's proposed import restriction on nicotine vaping products: a thematic analysis
Sun, Tianze, Lim, Carmen C.W., Gartner, Coral, Connor, Jason P., Hall, Wayne D., Leung, Janni, Stjepanović, Daniel and Chan, Gary C.K. (2021). Reactions on Twitter towards Australia's proposed import restriction on nicotine vaping products: a thematic analysis. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 45 (6) 1753-6405.13143, 1-3. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.13143
2021
Journal Article
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials and network meta-analysis of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation
Chan, Gary C. K., Stjepanović, Daniel, Lim, Carmen, Sun, Tianze, Shanmuga Anandan, Aathavan, Connor, Jason P., Gartner, Coral, Hall, Wayne D. and Leung, Janni (2021). A systematic review of randomized controlled trials and network meta-analysis of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. Addictive Behaviors, 119 106912, 106912. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106912
2021
Conference Publication
Sodium benzoate as an adjunctive treatment in early psychosis: a randomised clinical trial
Scott, J. G., Baker, A., Lim, C., Foley, S., Dark, F., Gordon, A., Ward, D., Richardson, D., Bruxner, G., Beckmann, K., Hatherill, S., Stathis, S., Dixon, K., Ryan, A., McWhinney, B., Ungerer, J., Berk, M., Dean, O., Saha, S. and McGrath, J. J. (2021). Sodium benzoate as an adjunctive treatment in early psychosis: a randomised clinical trial. RANZCP 2021, Hobart, TAS Australia, 16-20 May 2021. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
2021
Journal Article
Co‐morbidity between mood and anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Saha, Sukanta, Lim, Carmen C. W., Cannon, Danielle L., Burton, Lucinda, Bremner, Monique, Cosgrove, Peter, Huo, Yan and McGrath, John (2021). Co‐morbidity between mood and anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Depression and Anxiety, 38 (3), 286-306. doi: 10.1002/da.23113
2021
Journal Article
Personal correlates of support for medical and recreational cannabis legalization in Australia
Chiu, Vivian, Chan, Gary, Hall, Wayne, Hides, Leanne, Lim, Carmen and Leung, Janni (2021). Personal correlates of support for medical and recreational cannabis legalization in Australia. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12 551661, 551661. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.551661
2021
Journal Article
Anxiety and panic buying behaviour during COVID-19 pandemic—a qualitative analysis of toilet paper hoarding contents on Twitter
Leung, Janni, Chung, Jack Yiu Chak, Tisdale, Calvert, Chiu, Vivian, Lim, Carmen C. W. and Chan, Gary (2021). Anxiety and panic buying behaviour during COVID-19 pandemic—a qualitative analysis of toilet paper hoarding contents on Twitter. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (3) 1127, 1-16. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031127
2021
Conference Publication
Panic buying behavior analysis of COVID-19 related toilet paper hoarding content on Twitter
Chung, Jack Yiu Chak, Leung, Janni, Tisdale, Calvert, Chiu, Vivian, Lim, Carmen C. W. and Chan, Gary (2021). Panic buying behavior analysis of COVID-19 related toilet paper hoarding content on Twitter. 3rd International Electronic Conference on Environmental Research and Public Health, Online, 11-25 January 2021. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI. doi: 10.3390/ecerph-3-09001
2021
Conference Publication
Psychological distress and the experience of self-restrained lifestyle through COVID-19 in Japan – public insights from #Coronavirus-depression on Twitter
Huo, Yan, Lim, Carmen C. W., Chiu, Vivian, Tachimori, Hisateru and Leung, Janni (2021). Psychological distress and the experience of self-restrained lifestyle through COVID-19 in Japan – public insights from #Coronavirus-depression on Twitter. The 3rd International Electronic Conference on Environmental Research and Public Health, Online, 11-25 January 2021. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI. doi: 10.3390/ECERPH-3-09018
2021
Conference Publication
The changing patterns and correlates of adolescent polytobacco use among nationally representative samples of US youth spanning 6 years: a latent class analysis.
Sun, Tianze, Lim, Carmen C. W., Leung, Janni, Gartner, Coral, Hall, Wayne D., Connor, Jason P. and Chan, Gary C. K. (2021). The changing patterns and correlates of adolescent polytobacco use among nationally representative samples of US youth spanning 6 years: a latent class analysis. . APSAD Scientific Drug and Alcohol Conference, Virtual, 7-10 November 2021.
2020
Journal Article
Availability of substances for use in personal vaporisers on three online cryptomarkets
Lim, Carmen C.W, Leung, Janni K.Y, Connor, Jason P., Hall, Wayne D., Gartner, Coral, Cheng, Brandon H.C, Scheurer, Roman W., Sun, Tianze and Chan, Gary C.K (2020). Availability of substances for use in personal vaporisers on three online cryptomarkets. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 217 108254, 108254. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108254
2020
Conference Publication
Availability of substances for use in personal vaporisers on three online cryptomarkets
Lim, Carmen, Leung, Janni, Cheng, Brandon, Connor, Jason, Hall, Wayne, Gartner, Coral, Scheurer, Roman, Sun, Tianze and Chan, Gary (2020). Availability of substances for use in personal vaporisers on three online cryptomarkets. APSAD EMCR virtual showcase , Online, 4-25 November 2020.
2020
Journal Article
Effect of sodium benzoate vs placebo among individuals with early psychosis: a randomized clinical trial
Scott, James G., Baker, Andrea, Lim, Carmen C. W., Foley, Sharon, Dark, Frances, Gordon, Anne, Ward, David, Richardson, Drew, Bruxner, George, Beckmann, K. Martin, Hatherill, Sean, Stathis, Stephen, Dixon, Krystal, Ryan, Alexander E., McWhinney, Brett C., Ungerer, Jacobus P. J., Berk, Michael, Dean, Olivia M., Saha, Sukanta and McGrath, John (2020). Effect of sodium benzoate vs placebo among individuals with early psychosis: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA network open, 3 (11) e2024335, e2024335. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.24335
2020
Journal Article
Gateway or common liability? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of studies of adolescent e‐cigarette use and future smoking initiation
Chan, Gary C. K., Stjepanovic, Daniel, Lim, Carmen, Sun, Tianze, Shanmuga Anandan, Aathavan, Connor, Jason P., Gartner, Coral, Hall, Wayne D. and Leung, Janni (2020). Gateway or common liability? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of studies of adolescent e‐cigarette use and future smoking initiation. Addiction, 116 (4) add.15246, 743-756. doi: 10.1111/add.15246
2020
Journal Article
The cost of mental disorders: a systematic review
Christensen, M. K., Lim, C. C. W., Saha, S., Plana-Ripoll, O., Cannon, D., Presley, F., Weye, N., Momen, N. C., Whiteford, H. A., Iburg, K. M. and McGrath, J. J. (2020). The cost of mental disorders: a systematic review. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29 e161, e161. doi: 10.1017/s204579602000075x
2020
Journal Article
Comorbidity within mental disorders: a comprehensive analysis based on 145 990 survey respondents from 27 countries
McGrath, J. J., Lim, C. C. W., Plana-Ripoll, O., Holtz, Y., Agerbo, E., Momen, N. C., Mortensen, P. B., Pedersen, C. B., Abdulmalik, J., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., Alonso, J., Bromet, E. J., Bruffaerts, R., Bunting, B., de Almeida, J. M. C., de Girolamo, G., De Vries, Y. A., Florescu, S., Gureje, O., Haro, J. M., Harris, M. G., Hu, C., Karam, E. G., Kawakami, N., Kiejna, A., Kovess-Masfety, V., Lee, S., Mneimneh, Z. ... de Jonge, P. (2020). Comorbidity within mental disorders: a comprehensive analysis based on 145 990 survey respondents from 27 countries. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29 e153, e153. doi: 10.1017/s2045796020000633
2020
Journal Article
Randomized controlled trial of social cognition and interaction training compared to befriending group
Dark, Frances, Scott, James G., Baker, Andrea, Parker, Stephen, Gordon, Anne, Newman, Ellie, Gore-Jones, Victoria, Lim, Carmen C. W., Jones, Lyndall and Penn, David L. (2020). Randomized controlled trial of social cognition and interaction training compared to befriending group. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59 (3) bjc.12252, 384-402. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12252
2020
Journal Article
Corrigendum to: The epidemiology of alcohol use disorders cross-nationally: findings from the World Mental Health Surveys [Addict. Behav. 102 (2020) 106128] (Addictive Behaviors (2020) 102, (S0306460319304897), (10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106128))
Glantz, Meyer D., Bharat, Chrianna, Degenhardt, Louisa, Sampson, Nancy A., Scott, Kate M., Lim, Carmen C. W., Al-Hamzawi, Ali, Alonso, Jordi, Andrade, Laura Helena, Cardoso, Graca, De Girolamo, Giovanni, Gureje, Oye, He, Yanling, Hinkov, Hristo, Karam, Elie G., Karam, Georges, Kovess-Masfety, Viviane, Lasebikan, Victor, Lee, Sing, Levinson, Daphna, McGrath, John, Medina-Mora, Maria-Elena, Mihaescu-Pintia, Constanta, Mneimneh, Zeina, Moskalewicz, Jacek, Navarro-Mateu, Fernando, Posada-Villa, José, Rapsey, Charlene, Stagnaro, Juan Carlos ... Kessler, Ronald C. (2020). Corrigendum to: The epidemiology of alcohol use disorders cross-nationally: findings from the World Mental Health Surveys [Addict. Behav. 102 (2020) 106128] (Addictive Behaviors (2020) 102, (S0306460319304897), (10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106128)). Addictive Behaviors, 106 106381, 106381. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106381
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Carmen Lim is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Available projects
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Social Media Advertising on Youth Perceptions of Vaping
This PhD project aims to assess how targeted advertising on social media platforms affects youth perceptions of vaping. A mixed-methods approach could be used to analyze both quantitative and qualitative data.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Digital Deterrence: Exploring innovative social media interventions to curtail youth vaping
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jason Connor, Professor Coral Gartner
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Doctor Philosophy
Population-level of substance use and health outcomes
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Gary Chung Kai Chan, Professor Leanne Hides, Associate Professor Janni Leung
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Doctor Philosophy
The influence of social media upon alcohol use: An investigation of effects and mechanisms
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Gary Chung Kai Chan, Professor Jason Connor
Media
Enquiries
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