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Urska Arnautovska is an early career clinical academic, working as a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine and as a general psychologist in private practice. Following her professional training in Slovenia, she focused her research on suicide which led her to receiving an appointment at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP), a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention and, since 2008, a National Centre of Excellence in Suicide Prevention. In addition to her research work, she acted as a research coordinator of the Life Promotion Clinic and was involved in the management and analysis of clinical data pertaining to the patients of the clinic, which presented with complex mental health problems and suicidal thoughts and behaviour. Her subsequent research remained focused on mental health, and in more recent years, become dedicated to improving health outcomes in people with severe mental illness. Her PhD, for which she received a competitive Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (2012-2016), investigated the motivational processes underlying physical activity in older adults and was awarded the Australian Psychology Society (APS) Award for Excellent Higher Degree Thesis in Health Psychology. She has 48 peer-reviewed publications and has over $8.5 million in competitive research funding, with leading (CIA) roles on projects related to digital health interventions for people living with schizophrenia.

Dr George Thomas is a Research Fellow in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at The University of Queensland and a member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. His research focuses on children’s digital technology use, family digital routines, healthy screen use, and child health and wellbeing.

George leads an integrated program of research focused on understanding and improving how families manage children’s screen use. His work spans digital health, behavioural science, public health, and research translation through partnerships with government and industry.

His research has informed international policy and guidelines, including reports from UNESCO and the World Health Organization, and contributes to global initiatives such as the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance.

George is also committed to education and mentorship, having supervised more than 40 student research projects across psychology, dietetics, and exercise science, and supporting students to work on real-world policy and community initiatives.

Dr Mike Trott is a Research Fellow in Psychiatric Epidemiology and Evidence Synthesis with the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, specialising in lifestyle psychiatry, clinical trials, and psychiatric epidemiology.

His current research program addresses three major themes:

• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour – understanding their impact on mental and physical health and developing interventions to reduce cardiometabolic risk.
• Clinical trials – applying Bayesian and frequentist designs, adaptive platforms, and individual participant data to improve the efficiency and robustness of mental health research.
• Evidence translation – contributing to international guideline development, including forthcoming lifestyle guidelines for schizophrenia, and linking research findings to health service delivery.

He has published extensively in psychiatry, public health, and medicine, and his work has informed global organisations such as WHO, OECD, UNESCO, NICE, and the EU Digital Services Act.

James Woodforde is a lecturer in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at The University of Queensland. His research centres on physical activity in children and young people, with a specific focus on the school setting. James’s PhD research examined physical activity in the before-school segment, drawing on a variety of data sources and engaging with school stakeholders to develop a comprehensive understanding of physical activity patterns and influences during this time of day.

Associate Professor Carl Woods is a theoretical skill acquisition scientist, studying human-environment interactions at the intersection of sport science, ecological psychology and social anthropology. In addition to his appointment at the University of Queensland, he is the Learning Design Lead at the Queensland Academy of Sport, and Learning Design National Discipline Lead for Australian Athletics.

Carl has a unique blend of theoretical and applied experiences, having held research leadership positions within the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University, while coordinating coaching science, skill acquisition, and innovation within the Australian Football League.

Given these diverse experiences, his research spans three major themes: 1) theoretical advancements to the field of sport science; 2) exploring ways of fostering human-environment interactions through the promotion of ecologically literate behaviour; 3) addressing practical challenges in sport related to performance preparation, practice task design, and coach education.