Professor Xiaoqi Feng
PhD, University of St Andrews, UK
PhD, University of Sydney, Australia
PLD, Harvard University, US
Professor Xiaoqi Feng is an NHMRC Career Development Fellow in the UNSW School of Population Health and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health, Australia. She was an Adjunct Professor with the National Institute of Environmental Health at China CDC.
Xiao leads a program of research focused on enhancing population wellbeing through identifying modifiable environmental factors (e.g. disadvantage, urban green space, food environment) that shape health and developmental trajectories and inequities among newborns, children, adolescents and adults across the lifecourse. She has authored >190 publications, led major research projects (funding >$19.4M, including NHMRC, Heart Foundation), and successfully translated her research into policy and practice.
Xiao’s population health research has enabled councils with a public health/social licence to implement urban greening strategies. For example, her research informed the City of Sydney’s $377M strategy to plant 700 new trees annually for 10 years and reach 40% green cover by 2050. She’s enabling new conversations on empowering young and diverse communities of scientists in Australia as the founding director of a network on rapid urbanisation and population health (RUPH) in UNSW. Internationally, she leads a NHMRC/UKRI-funded research collaboration and is an elected council member and education committee chair for the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Asia-Western Pacific Chapter. Xiao has won multiple research awards, and is a finalist for the 2021 Women’s Agenda Emerging Leadership Award in Climate Action.
Xiaoqi is co-leading the NCD Research Stream in UNSW School of Population Health and she is a steering committee member of UNSW Faculty of Medicine Cardiac, Vascular and Metabolic Medicine Theme. She is a Cultural Diversity Champion in her faculty since Jan 2021 and an elected member of the UNSW Academic Board from July 2021. She has been a member of the Western Sydney Diabetes Leadership Alliance since 2013.
Since 2016, Xiao co-directs and co-founded the Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab (PowerLab). This involved leading a team of 15 members, including senior and junior quantitative researchers and PhD students, organising a thriving seminar series and a popular statistical training program to nurture a future generation of population health and environmental data scientists. She developed subject curriculum, coordinated and delivered teaching for epidemiology subjects in Bachelor and Master of Public Health courses. Xiaoqi previously served as the Head of Postgraduate Studies in the UOW School of Health and Society, and as a member of the NSW Population & Health Services Research Ethics Committee.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
2022- 2027 Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) – National Research Network on Human Health and Environmental Change (GNT 2008937), funded by NHMRC Human Health and Environmental Change Scheme: $10M, Chief Investigator and Co-Lead of Urban Health and Built Environment Research Theme, Executive Committee Member.
2021-2022 Uptake and effectiveness of a UNSW Lifestyle Clinic exercise physiologist intervention for improving physical activity and reducing high blood pressure: A pilot randomised controlled trial, funded by UNSW CVMM Research Theme: $150K, Co-Principal Investigator
2020-2023 Better Parks, Healthier for All?, funded by NHMRC and UKRI: $1.45M (CIA in Australia)
2021-2022 The risks of planting and not planting large shade trees along our streets, funded by Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE): $310,000 (Research Partner and Co-investigator)
2019-2020 Australia-Germany International Research Collaboration Grant with University of Wollongong and Ludwig Maximillian University Munich, funded by Universities Australia/DAAD: $50,000 (CIA in Australia)
2018-2022 NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (GNT1148792), funded by National Health and Medical Research Council: $431,000 (CIA)
2016-2021 Greener Cities, Healthier Lives (GC15005), co-funded by Horticultural Innovation Australia Limited and University of Wollongong: $3,279,176 (Joint CIA and Co-Lead)
2016-2020 NHMRC Project Grant (GNT1101065), funded by National Health and Medical Research Council: $714,266 (CIB)
2021 The Peter Baume Health Impact Award
2021 UNSW Faculty of Medicine and Health - Diversity Award
2021 UNSW Teaching Award Nomination - Students' Choice
2021 Women's Agenda Emerging Leadership Award in Climate Action (Finalist)
2019 Parks and Leisure Australia/National Research Award (winner)
2019 Parks and Leisure NSW/ACT Research Award (winner)
2018 The Dame Bridget Ogilvie Award for Outstanding Research Productivity (winner)
2017 UOW Vice Chancellor’s Award for Emerging Research of 2017 (winner)
2017 UOW Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award (nominated by students and peers)
2016 Faculty of Social Sciences Early Career Researcher of 2016 Award (winner)
2016 UOW Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Partnership (winner, shared with Prof Thomas Astell-Burt and Prof Glen Maberly)
2016 UOW Deputy Vice Chancellor’s Woman of Impact (named as 1 of 40)
2014 Early Career Researcher Team Award for Excellence and Innovation in Public Health Research, The Council for Academic Public Health Institutions in Australia (winner)
2013 Australasian Epidemiological Association Early Career Award (winner)
Research Impact and Media Engagement (with weblinks)
Impact driven: changing the environment to save lives by UNSW School of Population Health
Greening Sydney 2030 by City of Sydney: my research quoted on pdf page 20, 50 and 72.
Urban Greening Strategy by Wollongong Council: my research quoted on page 12, 13, 42.
Nourished by nature Garden design for mental health and wellbeing - Sanctuary Magazine, Page 90, issue 52, spring 2020
Going green - boosting your mood and saving money in the garden - CUA, 2020
"More green, more ‘zzzzz’? Trees may help us sleep" - the Conversation, 16 March 2020
"How to relieve anxiety during the epidemic" – SBS, 4 Feb 2020
"How to prevent epidemics when returning to china for the spring festival" - SBS, 15 Jan 2020
"Increasing tree cover may be like a ‘superfood’ for community mental health" - the Conversation, 27 July 2019
"Move over monkey bars, 'bush play' is the new way for apartment kids" - ABC, 08 Aug 2019
"Mapping out of our health" - SMH, 28 Feb 2018
My Teaching
Course Convenor: PHCM9612 Environmental Health, Term 2 (from 2020) with 100% students' satisfaction scores in year 2021 and 2022, according to UNSW MyExperience anonymous survey.
Course Convenor: PHCM9132 Applied Research Methods for Public Health, Term 3 (from 2021)
Course Convenor: BSc (Med) Hons Environmental Health and Data Science (from 2022)