How do you explain your current research/job to friends and family?

Women engage in significantly lower levels of physical activity (PA) due to structural, social, and environmental barriers that are intertwined and perpetuated throughout the life cycle. Our work consists of analysing these inequalities from a socio-ecological and intersectional perspective in Madrid, exploring the influence of access to exercise resources in PA levels, and how this association may be modified by gender, age, socioeconomic status and women’s perceptions. Based on qualitative and quantitative evidence, we will develop an index to assess access to physical activity resources in urban environments for women at different stages of life.

What inspired you to pursue a career in research? What drives you to continue in this path?

My motivation for research stems from a statement we often hear in the field of PA: ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ This presupposes that physical activity depends solely on individual willpower, but evidence has shown that the answer to this question is much more complex. There are structural, social and environmental barriers that limit the population, especially women, throughout their lives. After studying a Physical Activity and Sports Sciences degree and Sports Management Master, and from a gender and socio-ecological perspective, my research seeks to reduce gender inequalities in access to and participation in physical activity, and, consequently, to have a positive impact on the health of the population.

How do you envision your research impacting public health policies or practices?

The research has clear implications for public policies aimed at reducing gender inequalities in physical activity. A tool for monitoring physical activity deserts could be developed, with a special emphasis on those environments that facilitate access to exercise for women, as well as the need for strategies to reduce gender inequalities in the promotion and practice of physical activity. Policy briefs could also be published and disseminated to make this knowledge accessible. I recommend a good strategy for communicating results, differentiating between the target audience (public entities, stakeholders, athletes, the general public, etc.) in order to use different strategies.

What is your #1 piece of advice for emerging early career researchers?

My advice to those starting out in research is to be patient and learn to enjoy the process. An academic career is a marathon, not a sprint. If you find meaning in each stage – reading, analysing, writing, debating – you will build a solid and sustainable foundation. Constant curiosity, daily discipline, and maintaining the non-professional activities you enjoy are the keys to relish a career in research.

Interested in connection with Paula? Check out her LinkedIn.

What is a paper you recently published? What excited you about the question you answered?

In a recent study, we wanted to know whether intensity, volume, or duration of physical activity measured using accelerometers is more relevant for longevity. Specifically, we looked at all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. We found that the intensity of physical activity may be more important than the volume or duration for longevity. Including activities of higher intensity into daily routine may optimise health. We also investigated whether it matters if the most active minutes are spread throughout the day or performed in a single, continuous session. We found that accumulating intense activity in bouts was linked to better health outcomes than performing the same activity sporadically. What excited me about this work was that it shows how very simple choices in daily life, such as taking a purposeful 5-minute brisk walk after lunch or during a commute, rather than just moving a little bit here and there, may make a difference for long-term health. Based on these findings, turning such activities into regular habits might be a valuable way to support health over time, even though we did not study habit formation directly.

Fabian Schwendinger, Denis Infanger, Eric Lichtenstein, Timo Hinrichs, Raphael Knaier, Alex V Rowlands, Arno Schmidt-Trucksäss, Intensity or volume: the role of physical activity in longevity, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Volume 32, Issue 1, January 2025, Pages 10–19, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwae295

How do you explain your current research/job to friends and family?

I tell them that I’m a researcher who uses data from activity trackers to understand how signals from everyday life can be used to support healthier ageing and to identify opportunities to prevent heart disease earlier and more effectively.

Given unlimited funding, what would your dream research project be?

If I had unlimited funding, I’d love to lead a research project that combines established and upcoming wearable sensors to identify individuals at risk of cardiovascular disease and combine this with a targeted, individualised intervention to deliver the right behavioural or clinical support at the right time, when risk is rising, capacity is changing, or intervention is most likely to be effective.

What is your #1 piece of advice for emerging early career researchers? (And why do you say that?)

There are two pieces of advice, I think are important, but early career researchers often tend to forget.

1) Take regular breaks, not just when you feel exhausted. Stepping away now and then helps you stay clear-headed, motivated, and effective over the long term.

2) Allocate more energy to activities that move you closer to your sense of purpose and long-term direction and, if possible, be selective about commitments that absorb time without meaningfully contributing to your growth or goals.

Interested in connecting with Fabian or checking out his recent work?

Linkedin

Google Scholar

How do you explain your current research/job to friends and family?

When I explain my research to friends and family, I usually say that I study how different physical activity–related behaviors affect teenagers’ brains and school performance. In simple terms, I try to understand which types of movement, habits, and physical characteristics are most strongly linked to better cognitive functioning and academic achievement during adolescence.

What inspired you to pursue a career in research? What drives you to continue in this path?

I was inspired by a professor during my Sport Science degree who sparked my interest in science. After collaborating on various projects, I secured a PhD grant, which allowed me to turn that interest into a career. Today, what drives me is the chance to use research to improve the quality of life and well-being of young people.

What is a project you’re working on right now that you’re excited about?

The project I’m most excited about is my PhD thesis. My ultimate goal is for this research to go beyond the academic world and actually influence educational policies in my country. I want to provide the evidence needed to show how specific physical activity patterns can be a key tool for improving students’ cognitive and academic success at a national level.

What is a paper you recently published? What excited you about the question you answered?

I recently published a paper “Fitness, weight status, and executive functions in adolescents: A Cluster Analysis”. What excited me most was discovering how these factors interact to support the brain. Specifically, we found that having high fitness levels can actually mitigate the negative effects of a deficiency in another area, like weight status. It shows that there are multiple ways we can intervene to help a teenager’s cognitive health.

What is the most important advice you received as an early career researcher? (And why do you say that?)

The most important advice I received was to be prepared for a long and constantly changing process, but above all, to enjoy the journey. I value this because it has helped me stay resilient and focus on finding fulfillment in the research process itself from the very beginning, rather than just waiting for the final results.

Learn more about Fátima: https://produccioncientifica.uca.es/investigadores/167401/detalle

What inspired you to pursue a career in research? What drives you to continue in this path?

I was inspired, above all, by curiosity and a constant restlessness to understand how things work and how they can be improved. This was soon joined by my desire to contribute to society in my own small way. Research offers me a solid path to demonstrate the importance of physical activity and its role in the holistic development and well-being of individuals. I believe that contributing to science is a way of helping the world, and together with my constant drive for self-improvement and learning, these are my main sources of motivation.

How do you envision your research impacting public health policies or practices? (What recommendations do you have for others hoping to translate their research into policy or practice?)

I envision my research reinforcing the role of physical activity as a key element in educational and public health policies, providing evidence to support early and sustained school-based interventions. I hope these findings help design more effective programmes and embed physical activity as a core part of the Spanish education system. For those seeking to translate research into policy or practice, I recommend clear communication with relevant stakeholders, generating context-relevant evidence, and building strong connections between research and decision-makers.

What is your #1 piece of advice for emerging early career researchers? (And why do you say that?)

My main advice for early-career researchers is to enjoy what you do, avoid overextending yourself, and surround yourself with positive and supportive people. Research is a demanding long-term endeavour, full of ups and downs, frustrations, and moments when you might question whether to continue. Yet, it is also a deeply rewarding journey, offering incredible opportunities and the chance to contribute meaningfully to the world with solid evidence.

Interested in connecting with Franscisco? Connect with him here: ORCID, ResearchGate, X.

How do you explain your current research/job to friends and family?

I study how communities prepare for and recover from disasters—especially when it comes to food. My research looks at how programs like D-SNAP (Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and local food networks (such as food banks, community pantries, farmers markets, and mutual aid groups) help families access healthy food after hurricanes and other emergencies. I approach this work through a design and systems-thinking lens, exploring how the structure and coordination of food assistance systems can be improved to promote equity, resilience, and nutrition security. In short, I try to understand how we can design disaster food systems that are more equitable, coordinated, and resilient.

What is a project you’re working on right now that you’re excited about?

Right now, I’m working on my dissertation, which explores how disaster food assistance systems can better promote nutrition security and equity in Louisiana communities affected by hurricanes. My research examines how organizations—such as food banks, churches, grassroots coalitions, and city agencies—coordinate to deliver food assistance during and after disasters. Using surveys, social network analysis, and interviews, I map these relationships to understand where systems are strong and where they struggle. I’m especially excited about the collaborative nature of this work, which brings together community partners, design tools, and systems-thinking approaches to reimagine what more resilient and equitable food systems could look like in disaster-prone regions.

What is a paper you recently published? What excited you about the question you answered?

I recently published “Food Security Dimensions in U.S. Disaster Plans: A Comparative Analysis of States and Territories.” This paper examines how different states and territories across the U.S. incorporate food security into their disaster plans, from emergency feeding logistics to nutrition standards and coordination with federal programs. I was excited by this question because it connects two fields that are often treated separately — disaster management and public health nutrition — and highlights the policy gaps that leave vulnerable communities at risk when disasters strike.

Muñoz MM, Gartner DJ, Hassan S, Fuster M. Food Security Dimensions in US Disaster Plans: A Comparative Analysis of States and Territories. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 2025;19:e107. doi:10.1017/dmp.2025.98

How do you envision your research impacting public health policies or practices? (What recommendations do you have for others hoping to translate their research into policy or practice?)

My goal is to help policymakers and emergency planners better integrate nutrition security into disaster preparedness and response. This means moving beyond short-term food relief toward systems that promote equitable access to healthy, culturally appropriate foods before, during, and after disasters. For others hoping to translate their research into policy or practice, I recommend collaborating early and often with practitioners (e.g., emergency planners, food banks, and community organizations) so that research questions and findings are grounded in real-world needs.

Interested in connecting? Click here for Maria’s LinkedIn.

What is a paper you recently published?

I’m proud to share our recent study conducted across 330 Southern California cities (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.70021). This work highlights how childhood obesity is not just a matter of individual choices, but is deeply influenced by the broader environments children grow up in. From school resources to economic conditions, and even exposure to environmental pollutants, these factors may collectively shape childhood health outcomes in powerful ways.

A. Descarpentrie, J. C. Cleveland III, V. Midya, et al., “ Social and Environmental Correlates of Childhood Obesity Among Southern California Communities,” Obesity 33, no. 11 (2025): 2170–2180, https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.70021.

What excited you about the question you answered?

What I found compelling about this research is its ability to novelly challenge the traditional focus on individual behaviors in childhood obesity. By incorporating environmental and social factors, the research provides a broader perspective on the issue, highlighting how these elements may intersect and influence health outcomes long before adulthood, particularly in underserved populations. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of considering local context, as generalized approaches may fail to address the complexities of the problem.

How do you envision your research impacting public health policies or practices?

I hope this study will reinforce the need to rethink how we approach childhood obesity, shifting from a narrow focus on individual behaviors to a broader, systemic perspective. Our findings underscore that addressing the potential root causes requires policies that target specific structural determinants (including focusing on the school environment, healthcare access, social services, environmental exposures, and urban planning). Interventions may benefit from being designed with the local contexts in which children live in mind, especially for underserved populations.

What recommendations do you have for others hoping to translate their research into policy or practice?

For those seeking to translate research into practice, my advice is to consider the wider potential systemic forces at play. Early collaboration with policymakers and community stakeholders is crucial to turning research into real-world solutions. It’s not enough to identify the problems; we must offer tangible, systemic solutions that drive meaningful, lasting change.

What is a project you’re working on right now that you’re excited about?

At the moment, I’m continuing to explore the structural and broader social factors that may influence health outcomes, both in childhood and adulthood. My current focus is still on California, with a particular emphasis on diabetes outcomes, such as prediabetes, hospitalizations, and mortality. You can check out this recent article that examines the importance of context and various social and behavioral factors for diabetes diagnosis in adults, comparing national trends to those in Southern California: Read the full article here.

I tell people that I work with hospitals to help patients feel more motivated and supported to make positive changes in their lives. My research looks at how we can make it easier for people to be active, eat well, and stay connected — and how hospitals can make that kind of support part of everyday care.

How would you describe your program of research and its significance?

My research focuses on behaviour change and preventive health within hospital and health service settings. I’m particularly interested in how motivation and social connection influence physical activity and wellbeing, and how those approaches can be embedded into routine care. Much of my work sits at the intersection of implementation science and service design — translating evidence-based interventions into practical models that hospitals can actually deliver. The goal is to make prevention part of standard care, not something that happens only after people leave the hospital.

What is a paper you recently published? What excited you about the question you answered?

Our team recently published a study in BMC Public Health evaluating the Healthy4U at Scale project — which expanded an evidence-based physical activity behaviour change program from one regional hospital to five rural hospitals across Victoria. We wanted to know if interventions that work in trials can also work in real-world hospital settings. The most exciting part was seeing that participants still improved their activity and wellbeing, even when delivered under real service pressures. It showed that scaling up preventive health in rural hospitals isn’t just possible — it’s practical.

Dunford, A. R., Begg, S., Kingsley, M., O’Halloran, P., Perrin, B. M., & Barrett, S. (2025). Feasibility of scaling-up an evidence-based physical activity behaviour change intervention into routine ambulatory hospital care: a retrospective implementation evaluation using the RE-AIM framework. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 2396.

What is a project you’re working on right now that you’re excited about?

We’ve just started a hybrid implementation–effectiveness trial that builds directly on the Healthy4U at Scale project. We’re again working with the same rural health services, but this time engaging a broader group of clinicians — particularly Allied Health Professionals — to refer patients into preventive health programs. This builds on our earlier research showing that AHPs are willing to promote prevention if clear referral pathways exist. We’ve now translated that insight into practice, testing how these pathways can be embedded within routine care and evaluating both implementation success and patient outcomes.

What is a challenge have you faced as an early career researcher? (And how did you overcome it?)

One of the biggest challenges has been balancing the demands of implementation research with the realities of working in busy health services. As an early career researcher embedded within a hospital, it’s easy to get pulled between clinical priorities and research goals. I’ve learned to navigate this by building strong relationships with clinicians and managers early on, framing research as a tool that helps solve their problems rather than adding to their workload. That shift in perspective — from researcher to collaborator — has made the work far more feasible and rewarding.

What skills do you think have been most instrumental in your work? (How did you harness those skillsets?)

Communication and collaboration have been central. Much of my research success has come from listening to clinicians, translating complex theory into practical solutions, and co-designing projects that make sense in their context. Implementation science gives you the frameworks, but it’s the ability to communicate across disciplines — from executives to frontline staff — that makes those frameworks come alive. I’ve developed those skills through practice: running workshops, facilitating teams, and learning to adapt my language depending on who’s in the room.

About Stephen Barrett

Stephen is an Early Career Researcher and the Allied Health Research and Knowledge Translation Lead at Bendigo Health. His research focuses on health behaviour change and preventive health, with a particular emphasis on increasing physical activity and understanding the health economics of lifestyle interventions. He has a strong interest in implementation science and knowledge translation, using theories, models, and frameworks to accelerate the uptake of evidence into clinical practice. Stephen’s work aims to bridge the gap between research and real-world health service delivery, particularly within regional and rural settings.

Check out more of Dr. Barrett’s research here.

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Are you an early career researcher with exciting research findings or ideas to share? NESI wants to spotlight YOU! Email nesi.isbnpa@gmail.com to propose a Spotlight or Blog to be featured across ISBNPA’s channels.

I completed my Bachelor of Science (2012) and Master of Nutrition and Dietetics (2014) at The University of Sydney, and returned for my current Doctor of Philosophy (2021-). I became interested in research when working on and publishing my postgraduate research thesis – I thank A/Prof Fiona O’Leary for making that happen! I worked as a research assistant in assorted health and nursing research projects across Australian Catholic University, The University of Sydney and Deakin University – and it was my last major role in childhood obesity research which led to an idea that became a PhD project.

What is your main research interest?

My interests are in mixed methods research – happily, my PhD work combines a range of approaches, including secondary research, qualitative data collection with stakeholders, quantitative analysis with a birth cohort, and will hopefully cumulate with a co-designed intervention. As a part-time research assistant, I support projects that utilise my strengths in literature reviews and longitudinal data collection with REDCap databases.

The current research that drives me is my PhD work, on using messages and education around bottle feeding and formula feeding to prevent tooth decay and unhealthy weight risk together.

How do you explain your current research/job to friends and family?

I explain tooth decay from bottle feeding as a focus of dental research, and unhealthy weight gain from formula feeding as a focus of obesity and nutrition research – and the two remaining in their disciplinary silos without addressing each other, when bottle feeding can be a modality of overfeeding and foods/drinks in bottles can increase unhealthy gain risk. An important talking point will always be about prevention before chronic disease progression: untreated tooth decay in baby teeth will lead to tooth decay in adult teeth, and behavioural risk factors for unhealthy weight gain are established from childhood.

What are the main barriers you encounter/experience when conducting research?

My main concern is on what a researcher can change, especially when it comes to the broader policy and social environment – my goal is to create an intervention, co-designed with stakeholders, to prevent tooth decay and unhealthy weight gain with messages and solutions meaningful for parents and carers. Tooth decay and overweight/obesity can be prevented through daily household behaviours – but it’s made harder by a cariogenic and obesogenic food environment, including difficulty in affording, purchasing and preparing healthy food, and ease of access to preventative dentistry.

Given unlimited funding, what would your dream research project be?

My dream research project would be informed by the Child Health Action to Lower Oral Caries and Obesity (CHALO) project in New York (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03077425) and the Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) project in London (https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN10234623) – these are primary and community health care projects, with key focus on co-design and working with stakeholders, using culturally-informed and strengths-based messages that address parents’ and carers’ key concerns with feeding and dental health, and engagement and delivery by community facilitators and cultural support workers.

Contact

If you would like to get in touch with Heilok, here are her X and LinkedIn profiles.

I graduated from BSc Psychology with Sport & Exercise Science (Hons) at the University of Exeter in 2019. Then I moved straight on to MSc Health Psychology at the University of Bath, where I met my current advisory team and have since been doing a PhD in Behavioural Science. In 2021, I undertook a 6-month secondment as Research Officer to a mindfulness non-profit, Medito Foundation. After returning to doctoral research, I stayed on their Scientific Advisory Board. I’m also a podcast host, consultant, speaker, teaching assistant and peer reviewer on the side. My PhD’s coming to an end soon though, so who knows which institution I’ll be at this time next year!

How do you explain your current research/job to friends and family?

I tell them I’m a researcher working to understand how we can help people exercise more, so that they’re less likely to get depressed or anxious. I also research whether mindfulness meditation may be helpful to people trying to change their habits and live healthier lives (e.g., start exercising), and why this might be. Finally, I look at how to best ‘package’ scientific insights for whichever group of people we are trying to help, making sure that they are part of the process and that the research we do works for them.

What is your main research interest?

I’m fascinated by the interconnectedness between mental and physical health. The area has seen incredible progress since the turn of the century – we learned how different physiological systems impact mental health (e.g., inflammation, the microbiome, or exercise for treating depression) and how the mind can impact the body (i.e., how our beliefs and mindsets shape our bodily responses). Recognising this interconnectedness and how we can best leverage it is perhaps the biggest health paradigm shift of our generation, and I’m excited to be advancing our collective understanding of it through my work.

Given unlimited funding, what would your dream research project be?

It’d be a whole body of work! Following on from my research interests, I’d love to run a trial exploring i) what mindsets are most conducive to choosing a healthy, active lifestyle, ii) how we can encourage and develop those mindsets through interventions, iii) then comprehensively test the interventions and scale them up if effective. It’d have to be mixed methods to get the most complete understanding, and we’d definitely include some cool psychophysiological measures (perhaps heart rate variability?) and make use of digital methods, like activity monitors and ecological momentary assessment. I’m excited just thinking about it – off to write a grant now!

What’s something you have learnt about your research or yourself that was unexpected?

I’ve learned how non-linear progress is. There are periods when nothing seems to go to plan or you’re working hard with not much to show for it, only to then see a burst of growth or a few successes at once. It’s taught me to be persistent and not expect immediate results, instead trusting that it’s all adding up to great things later down the line. And when wins do happen, big or small, take the time to celebrate your (and others!) achievements and appreciate how far you’ve come.

Contact

If you would like to get in touch with Masha, here’s her X, LinkedIn, and Institution profiles.

Please tell us about your career pathway to date (positions and institutes).

I have a varied career background. First starting of as an urban planner working in consultancy and local council and then having a career change to become a dietitian completing a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours) at Monash University. As a dietitian I have worked in private practice and as a researcher in the area of health professions education at the Monash Centre for Scholarship in Health Education. I am currently completing my PhD at the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food at Monash University, Australia. I think my interest in improving population health (whether that is through changing the urban environment or through changing what we eat) has been the ultimate driver in my career pathway.

How do you explain your current research/job to friends and family?

I explain my current research to my family/friends as: My PhD looks at improving the health for night shift workers given that they are at a higher risk of metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes just by turning up to work. My project is part of the SWIFt study which is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia. The study looks at different dietary strategies for night shift workers to see whether intermittent fasting over a night shift period is beneficial for metabolic health, over and above a more traditional every day moderate calorie restriction approach. In particular, I am interviewing participants along the way to get a deeper understanding of what influences night shift workers in following the dietary strategies.  

What do you think will be the next most important development in the nutrition and/or physical activity field?

I think the field of chrono-nutrition (the relationship between temporal eating patterns, circadian rhythms, and metabolic health) is a growing area of research that is showing that it is not just what we eat, but also ‘when’ we eat that is really important for our health. 

Given unlimited funding, what would your dream research project be?

I would love to be able to continue to focus on implementation research – so leading the implementation of further dietary interventions (whether that is at the individual or population level) and evaluating whether it works, how and why. It would be great to take the findings of my PhD research and apply it to a workplace setting that includes night shift workers.

Contact

If you would like to get in touch with Corrine, you can do so via her LinkedIn and Twitter profiles.