Peta S. Cook

Dr Peta Cook is a Senior Lecturer of Sociology at the School of Social Sciences in the College of Arts, Law and Education (CALE) at the University of Tasmania. She is a sociologist of knowledge, with a specific focus on ageing, medical science, health and illness, and identity and embodiment. Her research is primarily concerned with what forms of knowledge count and why; how this knowledge is produced; and personal mean-making and experiences of ageing, and health and illness. Currently, Peta is strongly focused on ageism and age discrimination, age friendly environments, and the needs of older people as they age. She has wide expertise in a number of qualitative research methods, including interviews, focus groups, observation, discourse analysis, and photography. Experienced at sole and collaborative research, Peta frequently works in disciplinary and cross-disciplinary teams. She heavily focuses on research translation; focusing on how evidence can be communicated to the public and, more importantly, have outcomes with and for community. For her achievements in this space, Peta received the 2018 University of Tasmania Vice Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Community Engagement, was a Finalist in the 2019 Tasmanian Community Achiever Awards, and was awarded of the 2020 Sociology in Action Award from the Australian Sociological Association.