Rate My Professor Nicole Nathan

Associate Professor Nicole Nathan is a leading expert in implementation and sustainability science at the University of Newcastle's School of Medicine and Public Health, within the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. Originally trained as a physical education teacher, she earned a Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Human Performance and Exercise, Master of Medical Science with Honours, Master of Health Science, and Doctor of Philosophy in Health Behaviour from the University of Newcastle in 2016. As Heart Foundation Research Fellow, NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund Investigator Fellow, and Public Health Manager with Hunter New England Population Health, she directs the HMRI Population Health Program and chairs the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity's Implementation, Scale and Sustainability Special Interest Group. With over 20 years in health promotion, Nathan has spearheaded large-scale school interventions, including the Crunch & Sip program—delivered in more than 90% of New South Wales primary schools since 2012 to boost fruit and vegetable intake and hydration—and the Physically Active Children in Education (PACE) program, implemented in over 400 schools by 2023 to achieve 150 minutes of weekly physical activity, which won the Hunter Medical Research Institute Team Excellence Award and NSW Health Keeping People Healthy Award in 2022.

Nathan's research centers on implementation science in health policy, emphasizing strategies to sustain chronic disease prevention through physical activity, healthy eating, and obesity interventions in schools and communities. She has secured over $24 million in funding, formed the International Consortium on Sustaining Implementation for Public Health in 2023, and led the National School Health Promotion Collective. Awards include the Hunter Medical Research Institute Early Career Researcher Award (2021), NHMRC Translating Research into Practice Fellowship (2017-2019), Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship (2016), University of Newcastle Alumni Regional Leadership Award (2023), and WHO Excellence in Obesity Prevention Award (2016). Key publications encompass 'Multi-strategy intervention increases school implementation and student provision of water in Australian government primary schools: findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial' (2022), 'The impact of school uniforms on primary school student's physical activity at school: outcomes of a cluster randomized controlled trial' (2021), and 'Designing and undertaking randomised implementation trials: guide for researchers' (2021). Her contributions inform policies via consultations with NSW Health, Queensland Health, and Victoria Health, and WHO-commissioned reviews.