He is a professor of behavioral neuroscience at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine, where he has worked since 1979.
[2] He is also a senior research career scientist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon.
[3][4] Crabbe is known for his research using mouse models to study the pharmacogenetics of alcoholism.
[3][5] He is also known for a 1999 study he and his colleagues published documenting significant variations in certain mouse behaviors across different labs, even when they all tried to follow the same protocols.
[2] Crabbe is a member of the editorial board of Genes, Brain and Behavior.