Serene Yoong

Dr. Serene Yoong is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle. As a behavioral scientist and experienced dietitian with expertise in practice-based translational research, she has established herself as a leading implementation scientist focused on preventing obesity and chronic disease risk factors through evidence-based community interventions.

Dr. Yoong holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours), both from the University of Newcastle. Her educational background has provided a strong foundation for her work at the intersection of nutrition science, public health, and implementation research methodology.

Her research program focuses on developing and testing research translation strategies to support community and health service organizations in preventing obesity and other chronic diseases. She is particularly interested in identifying ways to make research evidence more relevant for community, policy, and practice decisions. Her work primarily involves undertaking randomized controlled trials to identify effective interventions in community settings such as healthcare services, schools, childcare centers, and primary care. This research is informed by key service delivery evidence-practice gaps and active partnerships with service providers, ensuring that proposed interventions are relevant, feasible, and capable of implementation into routine practice.

Dr. Yoong's recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on implementation science within early childhood education settings, with particular emphasis on physical activity, nutrition, and obesity prevention. Her work spans systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and implementation studies examining barriers and facilitators to sustainable program adoption. A notable trend is her increasing focus on scalability of interventions and community-driven approaches to health promotion.

• 2018 NSW Tall Poppy Award from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science
• 2018 BUPA Emerging Early Career Award finalist from the BUPA Health Foundation

Dr. Yoong has secured significant research funding including a National Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014) for web-based obesity prevention research in childcare services and an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award. She has established productive international collaborations, including work with the World Health Organization where she developed evidence-briefs on tobacco use and e-cigarette policies. Her advisory work extends to developing the menu-planning program 'feedAustralia,' which received federal funding for national rollout to all childcare services in Australia.

Dr. Yoong leads research teams focused on improving implementation of evidence-based practices in early childhood education and care settings. Her work involves close partnerships with government agencies, healthcare providers, and community organizations to ensure research has real-world impact. Current projects include examining the scalability of evidence-based healthy eating and physical activity programs and developing theory-informed implementation strategies for complex interventions.