Dr John Carmody graduated in medicine from the University of Queensland.

He retired in 2008 from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of NSW where he taught virtually every aspect of physiology and pharmacology to medical and science students while his research work was predominantly in the field of neuroscience, particularly sensory and synaptic function.

For more than 25 years he has worked as a music critic and book reviewer for Australian and overseas publications and has often broadcast on ABC radio.