Report Card Leaders
Gráinne Hayes, PH.D.
Gráinne is an Associate Professor (B) in Exercise Physiology at the University of Limerick, Ireland. She serves as the Deputy Lead of the Measurement and Determinants of Physical Activity theme within the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAfH) at the University of Limerick.
Her research interests include the measurement and analysis of habitual activity behaviours—such as sleep, sedentary behaviour, standing, and light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity—in free-living environments. She is particularly focused on the accuracy and validity of measurement methods in physical activity research and on exploring both the individual and combined effects of various components of the physical activity continuum on cardio-metabolic health. Additional areas of interest include the determinants of health behaviours across the lifespan and the implementation of effective interventions to promote positive behavioural change.
Gráinne recently contributed to the update of the National Physical Activity Guidelines for Ireland. She is currently leading the development of recommendations for measuring physical activity prevalence in the Republic of Ireland.
Her ongoing research collaborations include participation in WEALTH (Wearable Sensor Assessment of Physical and Eating Behaviours), a technology-focused project within the broader EU Joint Programming Initiative A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life (HDHL). This initiative—specifically the STAMIFY call—supports transnational research projects aimed at improving methods and tools for assessing and monitoring diet and physical activity, with the ultimate goal of enhancing public health recommendations and guidelines.
Angela Carlin, PH.D.
Angela is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise and Health at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. Her research interests include the development and evaluation of interventions to promote physical activity in children and adolescents, and the determinants of physical activity across the lifecycle. Angela has been involved in several national and international research projects and supervises doctoral students.
Angela is Principal Investigator on the Y-PATH NI project, involving the development and testing of the Youth – Physical Activity Towards Health intervention in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. Angela’s current research collaborations also include the Walking In ScHools (WISH) Trial: A peer-led, school based walking intervention for adolescent girls, and EUMOVE, an Erasmus+ Project aimed at implementing a comprehensive set of strategies and resources to enable the educational community to promote healthy lifestyles. Angela recently led the all-island research working group for the 2022 Ireland North and South Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. Angela co-leads the Northern Ireland country card, as part of the Global Observatory for Physical Activity.
Report Card Grades
- Overall Physical Activity: C-*
- Organized Sport and Physical Activity: C
- Active Play: INC
- Active Transportation: D
- Sedentary Behavior: C-
- Physical Fitness: INC
- Family and Peers: D+
- School: C-
- Community and Environment: B+
- Government: B*
* The grade is based on mixed data: device-measured and self-reported.
Report Card Leaders
Dr. Helen McAvoy, Director of Policy, Institute of Public Health in Ireland
Dr. Helen McAvoy graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a primary medical degree in 1997 and worked for several years in both hospital and general practice. She completed her MD in 2000 as part of the Masters in Health Promotion programme NUI Galway. She has worked on a number of government programmes relating to ageing and older people. She is now working as Director of Policy with the Institute of Public Health in Ireland focussing on progressing the government’s health inequality agenda in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In this role, she has contributed to a number of reports and policy papers on inequalities in maternal and child health, fuel poverty, tobacco, alcohol and inequalities in the border region.
Dr. Angela Carlin, Lecturer in Exercise and Health (Physiology), Ulster University
Angela is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise and Health at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. Her research interests include the development and evaluation of interventions to promote physical activity in children and adolescents, and the determinants of physical activity across the lifecycle. Angela has been involved in several national and international research projects and supervises doctoral students.
Angela is Principal Investigator on the Y-PATH NI project, involving the development and testing of the Youth – Physical Activity Towards Health intervention in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. Angela’s current research collaborations also include the Walking In ScHools (WISH) Trial: A peer-led, school based walking intervention for adolescent girls, and EUMOVE, an Erasmus+ Project aimed at implementing a comprehensive set of strategies and resources to enable the educational community to promote healthy lifestyles. Angela recently led the all-island research working group for the 2022 Ireland North and South Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. Angela co-leads the Northern Ireland country card, as part of the Global Observatory for Physical Activity.
Prof. Marie Murphy, Professor of Exercise and Health and Dean of Postgraduate Research / Director of the Doctoral College, Ulster University
Marie is Professor of Exercise and Health and Dean of Postgraduate Research / Director of the Doctoral College at Ulster University. Marie is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences (BASES) and the Higher Education Academy is a member of the WHO Europe Health Enhancing Physical Activity Steering Committee (HEPA Europe) and former member of the Board of the International Society of Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH). She was a member of sub-panel 26 Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism for the Research Excellence Framework 2014 and is Chair of the sub-panel for REF2021. Marie’s research focuses on the effect of physical activity and exercise, in particular walking, on health and uses multidisciplinary approach which includes outcome measures ranging from the behavioural to the biochemical. Marie is PI on a number of funded research projects including the Cross-border Healthcare Intervention Trials (CHITIN) funded Walking In ScHools (WISH) trial. Marie has over 120 peer-reviewed papers and has been involved as an author in the UK and Irish national physical activity guidelines (2011 Start Active Stay Active) and led the review of the UK Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults published in 2019.
Report Card Grades
- Overall Physical Activity: D
- Organized Sport Participation: C-/C+
- Active Play: INC
- Active Transportation: D
- Sedentary Behaviors: C-
- Family and Peers: INC
- School: D
- Community and Built Environment: B+
- Government Strategies and Investments: INC
Related Links
Report Card Grades
- Overall Physical Activity: D-
- Organized Sport Participation: C-
- Active Play: INC
- Active Transportation: D
- Sedentary Behaviors: C-
- Family and Peers: INC
- School: C-
- Community and Built Environment: B
- Government Strategies and Investments: INC