Rebecca Hodder

Dr. Rebecca Hodder is an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle's School of Medicine and Public Health, with over 18 years of experience in the implementation and evaluation of large-scale chronic disease prevention programs. She also serves as a Program Manager at Hunter New England Population Health. Dr. Hodder has established herself as an international leader in living evidence and systematic reviews, with a focus on school-based health promotion and chronic disease prevention.

Her educational background includes:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Behavioural Sciences, University of Newcastle
• Master of Applied Psychology, University of Newcastle
• Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), University of Newcastle

Dr. Hodder's research primarily focuses on chronic disease prevention programs implemented in community settings, with special emphasis on school environments. She is internationally recognized as a leader in living evidence synthesis, having led the first Cochrane living systematic review which utilizes 'next generation' evidence systems incorporating both machine and human effort for efficient evidence production. Her work spans obesity prevention, drug and alcohol prevention, mental health promotion, and implementation science.

Analysis of Dr. Hodder's recent publication record reveals a strong emphasis on living systematic reviews, obesity prevention across various age groups (particularly in school settings), implementation science, and emerging public health concerns like e-cigarette use among youth. Her work consistently bridges the gap between evidence synthesis and practical implementation, with numerous studies examining how to translate research findings into effective public health practice.

Dr. Hodder has received significant recognition for her contributions to public health:

• Ranked in the World's Top 2% of Scientists by Stanford University (2021-2024)
• 2019 CAPHIA Award for PhD Excellence in Public Health
• 2019 Early Career Research and Innovation Excellence Award
• Multiple awards for the Good for Kids childhood obesity prevention program
• Early Career Award from the International Congress of Behavioural Medicine

Dr. Hodder has supervised 5 PhD students to completion and currently mentors 5 PhD students, 3 post-doctoral researchers, and 4 health promotion practitioners. She has secured over $8 million in research funding, including an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship ($330K) and a MRFF Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles grant ($2.1M) targeting e-cigarette use. Her research has been cited over 6,000 times (h-index 37) and has directly influenced policy documents including WHO guidelines, United Nations fruit and vegetable policy, and NSW child obesity policy.

Dr. Hodder serves as Stream Lead for chronic disease prevention in schools and living evidence at the National Centre of Implementation Science (an NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence). She also holds executive positions including Deputy Director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute Population Health Program and executive member of the Australasian Society of Behavioural Medicine.