DrAna Maria Contardo Ayala

Dr Ana María Contardo Ayala is a Research Fellow at Deakin University's Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), specialising in for children and adolescents from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

She leads the NHMRC-funded Culturally Responsive Physical Activity Promotion project and serves as academic lead of TransformUs Secondary, scaled nationally across four Australian states. Her publication record includes 30 peer-reviewed papers, an FWCI of 1.22, and 84% of outputs in top-quartile journals. She serves in leadership roles with the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and the Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity.

Her work combines device-based measurement, compositional data analysis, intervention development, and implementation science with community co-design and a sustained focus on populations underserved by mainstream health promotion. As a culturally and linguistically diverse academic, she brings lived experience that deepens her commitment to equity-oriented research and real-world impact.