Our people

Professor Ester Cerin

Director of the Centre for Behaviour, Environment & Health Research

Areas of expertise: environmental and psychosocial determinants of lifestyle behaviours and health; physical activity; cognitive and cardiometabolic health; sustainable environments; applied statistics

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: Full

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7599-165X

Phone: (03) 9230 8260

Email: Ester.Cerin@acu.edu.au

Location:  ACU Melbourne Campus

Professor Ester Cerin is a Behavioural Scientist and Statistician. Her research interests focus on environmental and psychosocial determinants of lifestyle behaviours and health across the lifespan. She has held substantive academic positions in Australia (University of Queensland and Deakin University), USA (Baylor College of Medicine) and Hong Kong (The University of Hong Kong). She is a Clinical Affiliate of Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute and Honorary Professor atthe School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong where she was ranked among the top 1% scholars. From 2020 till 2023, she was also a Professor in Statistics at Department of Community Medicine of UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Professor Cerin is currently one of the main investigators and director of the coordinating centre of two multi-country studies on environmental correlates of physical activity and obesity in adults and adolescents (IPEN Adult and Adolescent studies) funded by the National Institutes of Health (USA), and Principal Investigator of the international Mind, Activities and urban Places (iMAP), Environment and Pollution On Cognitive Health (EPOCH) and Healthy Ageing and Urban Spaces (HAUS) studies.She is also a Chief Investigator and Lead of the Environmental Epidemiology group of the COSMIC Collaboration and Head of Scientific Evidence of the Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities. In 2018, she founded the International Cognitive Health and the Environment Network (ICHEN), dedicated to facilitating research and advocacy actions for the creation of community environments that support cognitive health. She was President Elect (2022-2023), and then President (2023-2025), of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, She was a Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IF: 6.714) for over 10 years and Associate Editor of Health & Place (IF: 3.290) for 3 years.

Professor Cerin has authored over 350 scientific articles in high-impact international peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Annual Review of Public Health, BMJ, Journal of Clinical Oncology, International Journal of Obesity, The Lancet and Nature). Since 2010, she has been awarded 36 research grants / fellowships, 15 as Lead Investigator, totalling over $32 million. Bodies that have funded her research include the Australian Research Council (ARC), National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), National Institutes of Health (USA), World Cancer Research Fund, UK Research and Innovation, and the Health and Medical Research Fund of the Food and Health Bureau (Hong Kong).Professor Cerin leads the Institute’s Behaviour, Environment and Health Research Program with intersecting interests in the neighbourhood built environment, lifestyle behaviours and health across the lifespan.

Select publications (2020-)

• Cerin E, Soloveva MV, Molina MA, Schroers RD, Wu YT, Sachdev PS, Knibbs LD, Cherbuin N, Jalaludin B, Mavoa S, Anstey KJ. (2025). Do associations of neighbourhood attributes with cognitive function vary by socio-economic status? A 12-year follow-up study of older Australians. Science of the Total Environment, 999, 180354. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180354.

• Fancello G, Chaix B, Molina MA, Stickland N, Barnett A, Lautenschlager NT, Anstey JA, Cerin E. (2025). Urban environment and complexity of walking routes in mid-aged and older adults: the moderating effects of cognitive abilities. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 105, 102660. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102660

• Cerin E, Matison AP, Molina MA, Schroers RD, Li W, Knibbs L, Sorensen Catts V, Wu YT, Soloveva MV, Anstey KJ, Mavoa S, Poudel G, Jalaludin B, Kochan N, Brodaty H, Sachdev PS. (2025). Neighbourhood environments and transition to cognitive states: Sydney Memory and Ageing Study. Alzheimer’s and Dementia, 21(8), e70569. doi: 10.1002/alz.70569

• Cerin E, Adams MA, Conway TL, Frank LD, Cain KL, Lai PC, Duncan S, Queralt A, Timperio A, Schipperijn J, Reis RS, Van Dyck D, Wong PPY, Dygrýn J, Hinckson E, Molina-Garcia J, Sallis JF. (2025). Evaluating the performance of spatial indicators of destination accessibility for physical activity research: a comparative international analysis. Cities, 163, 106044. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106044

• Timperio A, Duncan S, Akram M, Molina-García J, Van Dyck D, Barnett A, Salonna F, Rm A, Sallis JF, Vorlíček M, Hinckson E, Cain KL, Conway TL, Wan Muda WAM, Moran M, Oyeyemi AL, Pizarro A, Reis RS, Rezwan SM, Schipperijn J, Cerin E. (2025). Associations between parental perceptions of neighbourhood environments and active travel to school: IPEN Adolescent study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 22(1), 55. doi:10.1186/s12966-025-01738-3

• Cerin E, Soloveva MV, Molina MA, Schroers RD, Knibbs LD, Akram M, Wu YT, Mavoa S, Prina M, Sachdev PS, Sorensen Catts V, Jalaludin B, Poudel G, Symmons M, Barnett A, Huque MH, Cherbuin N, Anstey KJ. (2024). Neighbourhood environments and cognitive health in the longitudinal Personality and Total Health (PATH) Throurgh Life study: a 12-year follow-up of older Australians. Environment International, 191, 108984. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108984

• Cerin E, Chan YK, Symmons M, Soloveva M, Martino E, Shaw JE, Knibbs LD, Jalaludin B, Barnett A. (2024). Associations of the neighbourhood built and natural environment with cardiometabolic health indicators: A cross-sectional analysis of environmental moderators and behavioural mediators. Environmental Research, 240(Pt 2),117524. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117524.

• Cerin E, Barnett A, Wu YT, Martino E, Shaw JE, Knibbs LD, Poudel G, Jalaludin B, Anstey KJ. (2023). Do neighbourhood traffic-related air pollution and socio-economic status moderate the associations of neighbourhood physical environment with cognitive function? Findings from the AusDiab study. Science of the Total Environment, 858, 160028. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160028

• Cerin E, Sallis JF, Salvo D, Hinckson E, Conway TL, Owen N, van Dyck D, Lowe M, Higgs C, Moudon AV, Adam MA, Cain KL, Christiansen LB, Davey R, Dygrýn J, Frank LD, Reis R, Sarmiento OL, Adlakha D, Boeing G, Liu S, Giles-Corti B. (2022). Determining thresholds for spatial urban design and transport features that support walking to create healthy and sustainable cities: findings from the IPEN Adult study. The Lancet Global Health, 10(6), e895-e906. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00068-7.

• Cerin E, Barnett A, Shaw JE, Martino E, Knibbs LD, Tham R, Wheeler AJ, Anstey KJ. (2022). Urban neighbourhood environments, cardiometabolic health and cognitive function: a national cross-sectional study of middle-aged and older adults in Australia. Toxics, 10, 23. doi: 10.3390/toxics10010023.

• Cerin E, Barnett A, Shaw JE, Martino E, Knibbs LD, Tham R, Wheeler AJ, Anstey KJ. (2021). From urban neighbourhood environments to cognitive health: a cross-sectional analysis of the role of physical activity and sedentary behaviours. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 2320. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-12375-3.

• Cerin E, Van Dyck D, Zhang CJP, Van Cauwenberg J, Lai PC, Barnett A. (2020). Urban environments and objectively-assessed physical activity and sedentary time in older Belgian and Chinese community dwellers: potential pathways of influence and the moderating role of physical function. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17(1), 73

• Cerin E, Barnett A, Zhang CJP, Lai PC, Sit CHP, Lee RSY. (2020). How urban densification shapes walking behaviours in older community dwellers: a cross-sectional analysis of potential pathways of influence. International Journal of Health Geographics, 19(1), 14. doi :10.1186/s12942-020-00210-8.

• Sallis JF, Cerin E, Kerr J, Adams MA, Sugiyama T, Christiansen LB, Schipperijn J, Davey R, Salvo D, Frank LD, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Owen N. (2020). Built environment, physical activity, and obesity: findings from the International Physical Activity and Environment Network (IPEN) Adult Study. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 119-139. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043657.

• Cerin E, Barnett A, Chaix B, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Caeyenberghs K, Jalaludin B, Sugiyama T, Sallis JF, Lautenschlager NT, Ni MY, Poudel G, Donaire-Gonzalez D, Tham R, Wheeler AJ, Knibbs L, Tian LW, Chan YK, Dunstan DW, Carver A, Anstey KJ. (2020). The international Mind, Activities and urban Places (iMAP) study: Methods of a cohort study on environmental and lifestyle influences on brain and cognitive health. BMJ Open, 10(3), e036607. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036607.

Select Projects (2020-)

• The Healthy Ageing and Urban Spaces (HAUS) project – urban environments for active and healthy ageing in the era of climate change. Velux Stiftung. 2025-2028. AU$505,000

• A global epidemiology of cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease and related disorders: the COSMIC Collaboration. National Institutes of Health. 2024-2028. US$7,270,286

• The impact of the Environment and Pollution on Cognitive Health (EPOCH): Building the knowledge base through international collaboration. UKRI-NHMRC Built Environment and Prevention Research Scheme. 2020-2025. AU$681,354

• Considerations of planning community facilities and elderly neighbourhood satisfaction in urban old district. General Research Fund (Hong Kong). HK$984,250

• The Environment, Active Living and Cognitive Health: Building the Evidence Base. ACURF Program Grant. 2018-2025

• Centre of Excellence in Cognitive Health: Evidence, intervention and population modelling. NHMRC. 2015-2020. AU$276,215

• International Physical Activity and the Environment (IPEN). National Institutes of Health (USA). US$2,823,300

Accolades and awards

• Top 1% of scholars, University of Hong Kong. 2015

• Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher. 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

• Award for Research Excellence, Planning Institute Australia – Victoria. 2022

• National Award for Research Excellence – Planning Institute Australia. 2023

• Long Service Award – Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. 2025

Appointments and affiliations

• Clinical Affiliate of Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute

• Honorary Professor of the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong

• Professor in Statistics at Department of Community Medicine of UiT The Arctic University of Norway (2020-2023)

• President, International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2023-2025)

Editorial roles

• Deputy Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2011-2022)

• Associate Editor, Health & Place (2020-2023)