DrSimone Verswijveren

Contribution involved synthesising current scientific evidence on physical activity in school and education settings and translating this into actionable recommendations for policymakers, health organisations, and advocates nationwide.

This involves summarising national evidence on physical activity among children and young people and assigning a grade, which is used by policymakers, researchers, and advocates to benchmark and prioritise action on children's physical activity.

Simone held an elected position as student representative in the Executive Committee of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA).

The Building Future Leaders course is a six-month leadership development program for mid-career researchers focused on communication, collaboration, and strategic decision-making. Last year, the program supported 23 mid-career researchers globally through workshops, mentoring, and networking activities.

This committee leads the development of the Australian Physical Activity Report Card and broader knowledge translation initiatives aimed at strengthening public and policy engagement around children’s physical activity across the Australasian region.

The ISBNPA mentoring program offers members in the society with opportunities to connect and engage with other members at various stages in their careers. The program provides a platform for mentees and mentors to be matched based on interests and availability. As chair of the mentoring program team, I was responsible for rebranding the mentoring initiative in 2023.

NESI was founded in 2016 and their mission is to promote, stimulate and advocate the work and research of early career researchers and students in the area of behavioural nutrition and physical activity.

Poster presentation: A school- and home-based intervention program to promote physical activity and reduce and break up sedentary behaviour: Impacts on children’s movement behaviour accumulation patterns and adiposity markers.

Longitudinal associations of sedentary time and physical activity duration and patterns with cognitive development in early childhood.

Total volumes and accumulation patterns across the activity spectrum and associations with cardiometabolic health in youth: A latent profile & compositional data analysis approach.

Including decision-making on keynote speakers and the abstract review processes.

The North Eastern Public Health Unit (NEPHU) includes 12 LGAs and aims to work collaboratively to improve the health and wellbeing of the 1.8M people.

Contributed to the early development and planning of the Biostatistics CoP, attending bimonthly meetings to establish objectives and operational guidelines, aimed at enhancing collaboration and knowledge exchange among Deakin University staff using quantitative methods.