Dr Trynke Hoekstra (co-chair) is an assistant professor at the Department of Health Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She teaches epidemiology and biostatistics courses on BSc-, MSc and postgraduate level. Her research concerns active lifestyle promotion in clinical rehabilitation among people with physical disabilities or chronic diseases. Additionally, her more methodologically oriented research projects focus on the unraveling of (patient) heterogeneity. Trynke likes to work in multidisciplinary teams and aims to educate her students in becoming critical and constructive young professionals.
Dr Borja del Pozo-Cruz (co-chair) is a behavioural scientist working in the area of Physical Activity and Public Health; his particular interest is in modelling the health-related outcomes of the dynamics of use of time across the 24 hours, and developing optimal strategies to help modify behaviours towards physical activity, active lifestyle and better quality of life in vulnerable to inactivity populations, with particular focus on individuals with chronic diseases across the lifespan. The major challenge of improving psychological and other health-related outcomes and quality of life has involved his participation in several funded projects over the last 6 years, resulting in over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Dr. del Pozo-Cruz serves in various professional and scientific bodies including the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network, the Global Burden of Disease Study, the New Zealand Physical Activity Network, the International Society for Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, and the International Society for Physical Activity and Health. Dr. del Pozo-Cruz bring expertise on the assessment of physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns using objective techniques. Moreover, he is well skilled in complex statistical analysis procedures such as compositional data analysis, mixture models or cost-effectiveness analysis of interventions. Dr. del Pozo-Cruz does regular peer-esteem work through manuscript reviewing and editorial work for some prestigious journals in the biomedical, public health and preventive medicine field.
Dr Abi Nader is an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Québec Rimouski, Québec, Canada. Patrick’s research focuses on: 1) identifying the best strategies to implement school-based physical activity interventions to ensure their success, 2) identifying factors that influence youth’s participation in movement behaviors from childhood through adolescence (especially in the transition age period), 3) identifying links between movement behaviors and health outcomes, 4) identifying school environmental and policy factors that influence physical activity and sedentary behaviors at school, and 5) evaluating the performance of a society or country in its efforts to promote physical activity behaviors among its youth. Patrick pursues all his research aims for the sole purpose of finding ways to facilitate the enactment of healthy behaviors. He is genuinely invested in the growth of his students and frequently provides opportunities for rich practical experiences.
Dr Jane Jie Yu is ZJU100 Young Professor at the Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University (ZJU) in China. She is interested in the research related to physical activity and health, particularly in children with and without special educational needs (e.g., developmental coordination disorder) and persons with various types of disabilities. She focuses her research on motor skills development, multi-faceted correlates of physical activity participation, and the development and implementation of effective interventions for health promotion, with the aim to promote physical health and psychological well-being in the target populations. Dr Yu has published her work widely in top-tier international peer-reviewed journals in the field of sport sciences and rehabilitation such as Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, and Research in Developmental Disabilities. She has been involved in a series of cutting-edge research projects supported by the completive external grants such as General Research Fund from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Government. She was a member of the organizing committee for ISBNPA 2018 Annual Meeting.
Dr Siew Lim is an early career researcher and an accredited practising dietitian with a highly competitive biomedical, clinical and public health research track record and >10 years experience as a clinical/research dietitian in women’s health. She is recognised nationally and internationally as an emerging leader in the field of obesity management in women of reproductive age. She has received a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship for 2018-2023. Dr Lim’s research focuses on developing evidence-based lifestyle programs for weight management or chronic disease prevention in women of reproductive age, particularly in postpartum women. She is leading a number of projects on evidence-based translation and implementation of lifestyle programs, with a specific focus on scalable and sustainable interventions for primary care and other community settings. She has experience in working within a multidisciplinary clinical and research team that comprises experts in health psychology, clinical psychology, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology, exercise physiology, dietetics, health service improvement and public health. Dr Lim brings skills in dietetics, lifestyle behaviour change, health coaching, stakeholder engagement, co-design, program development, program delivery and lifestyle program evaluation.
Dr Jinan Banna is Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii. She is a registered dietitian, and completed her dietetic internship at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Her research interest is in obesity prevention and developing tools to assess dietary intake, particularly in Spanish-speaking populations. In addition, her work focuses on aspects of sustainable food systems, such as food waste reduction. Dr. Banna teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels such as Community Nutrition, Concepts in Nutrition Education, and Advanced Child and Adolescent Nutrition. She recently completed an assignment as a Fulbright Specialist at the Universidad VERITAS in Costa Rica.
Dr Cindy Sit is Associate Professor at the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research areas include investigations of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, and assessment of the impact of physical activity interventions on motor skills and psychosocial outcomes of children with and without disabilities. She is a fellow of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA) and the Hong Kong Association of Sports Medicine and Sports Science (HKASMSS). As a registered social worker, Cindy is adept at integrating sports science principles with social work philosophy to help children develop their well-being through physical activity.
