Associate ProfessorSerene Yoong

I am an internationally recognised implementation scientist, Associate Professor of Implementation Science, National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow and Co-Director of the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) at Deakin University. I lead the Dynamic Implementation Research Group, which develops adaptive, systems-informed implementation methods to improve translation of evidence-based child health promotion programs into policy and practice.

Over the past decade, I have established an internationally recognised research program that has shaped the evidence base for community-based implementation science. Through leadership of implementation trials, the first Cochrane reviews of implementation strategies in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and primary school settings, and internationally adopted methodological guidance for implementation trials, my research has advanced how implementation strategies are designed, evaluated and translated into practice.

This work has generated real world impact, informing global tobacco policy through long-standing collaborations with the World Health Organization and enabled national scale-up of evidence-based nutrition guidelines reaching thousands of ECEC services and hundreds of thousands of Australian children. I am Chief Investigator on more than $30 million in competitive research funding and have published more than 270 peer-reviewed publications. I currently serve on the NHMRC Expert Committee revising the Australian Dietary Guidelines contributing implementation science expertise.

My leadership has been recognised through the Deakin University Vice-Chancellor's Award for Research Excellence (2024), Heart Foundation Collaboration and Exchange Award (2024), Institute for Health Transformation Mid-Career Researcher Award (2023), Hunter Medical Research Institute Early Career Researcher Award (2018), Australian Institute of Policy and Science NSW Tall Poppy Award (2018), and the BUPA Early Career Researcher Award (2018).