Verity Cleland is an Associate Professor at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, and is funded by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Future Leader Fellowship. She is behavioural epidemiologist with a background in health promotion, and her main research interest is in understanding and promoting physical activity. Her work has focused on groups at high risk of inactivity including women, those experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and rural communities. A/Prof Cleland is passionate about applying her findings to the way we build our cities and how we provide public services to support more physically active lifestyles. She currently leads a NHMRC Partnership Project (2018-2021) to better understand and change active and public transport behaviours in Tasmania. This project involves partnerships with Metro Tasmania, the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services, and the Tasmanian Local Government Association, and involves secondary data analysis of existing datasets as well as evaluation of randomised and natural experiments. Verity is Deputy Chair of the Tasmanian Premier’s Health and Wellbeing Advisory Committee, which has a major focus on working inter-sectorally and inter-departmentally to create environments that support healthy behaviours. Through this committee, her partnership project, and her history of collaborative research, she is well-connected with a range of stakeholders in Tasmania and nationally.
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