Prior to embarking in a research career path, McGill University Nursing Professor and researcher, Andraea Van Hulst, worked as an emergency department nurse and later as a community health nurse. Her early nursing experiences with patients and families have been central to her choice to do research on pediatric chronic disease prevention efforts, namely by focusing on obesity, one of the most important chronic disease risk factor in children and youth. Her research program builds on a unique combination of training in person- and family-centered nursing care, and in epidemiology and population health research. Dr Van Hulst’s research seeks to better understand the interplay among individual, family, and neighbourhood determinants of obesity and related lifestyle habits such as physical activity and eating behaviours. The focus of her research is on high-risk populations including children and youth with a family history of obesity and those followed in weight management programs. By better understanding the combination of multiple factors, whether related to the child, the family environment or the neighbourhood environment, Dr. Van Hulst will contribute important knowledge towards the development of obesity prevention strategies that are tailored to the contextual environments of the growing number of families with children and youth at risk for obesity and its complications.Â
