35. Interview with physical activity and mental health researchers Associate Professor Megan Teychenne and Dr Niamh Mundell

This week we loved chatting with two more researchers from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN): Associate Professor Megan Teychenne and Dr Niamh Mundell. Megan’s PhD is in Behavioural Epidemiology and she’s currently an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at IPAN. For more than 15 years Megan has investigated the role of health-related behaviours (e.g. physical activity, sedentary behaviour) in the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions (particularly depression and anxiety), with a focus on vulnerable population groups including socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and women (pregnant and postpartum). She has played a pivotal role in advancing knowledge of the field, with her research cited in several international evidence briefings (e.g. British Heart Foundation, The World Health Organisation), and in her role as associate editor for the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity. Megan actively contributes to raising public awareness about the importance of physical activity for improving mental health, having been a guest on several national radio and TV programs, as well as her research being profiled in several hundreds of popular media articles worldwide. Niamh Mundell is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology within Deakin University’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. She is also a Non-Executive Director at Exercise and Sports Science Australia and practices as an accredited exercise physiologist. She has a PhD in the field of exercise for cognition during ageing and cancer survival, (Deakin University) and Master of Exercise Physiology (Victoria University, Australia). Her research primarily focuses on exercise physiology, with interests in mental and cognitive health during ageing and chronic disease and improving the exercise physiology industry for clinicians and patients. Niamh’s research integrates clinical exercise physiology skills and experience to focus on improving the way clinical outcomes are captured and the optimal modes of delivery to support value-based care in clinical exercise physiology practice. You call follow Megan and Niamh and find out more about their work here: https://twitter.com/meganteychenne https://twitter.com/NiamhMundell https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/megan-teychenne< https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/niamh-mundell https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-teychenne-38a1a756/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/niamh-mundell-124a8935/ The exercise that best supports your mental health (smh.com.au) Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/w5me