Professor Xiaoqi Feng
PhD, University of St Andrews, UK
PhD, University of Sydney, Australia
PLD, Harvard University, US
Professor Xiaoqi Feng the Professor of Urban Health and Environment at theUNSW School of Population Health. She is also an Honorary Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, Australia. She has authored >200 publications with a career Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) over 9, has led major research projects (funding >$21M, including NHMRC and Heart Foundation fellowships), and successfully translated her research into policy and practice.
Professor Feng leads a research program focussed on improving urban health and reducing health inequalities. This is done by evidencing place-based interventions through conducting longitudinal studies of big data (e.g., health benefits of urban greening) and in randomised trials of social prescribing programs and related initiatives (e.g., nature prescribing). These projects are conducted mostly through the Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab (), a multi-university network which she co-founded in 2016 and co-directs, and the Rapid Urbanisation and Population Health (RUPH) research group based at UNSW.
Professor Feng’s research has made significant impacts across international scholarship and the on-the-ground experiences of local communities. She co-created the widely cited 'Domains of Pathways' conceptual model in 2016 that provided a unified theory linking green space and health. She introduced the concept of "", a term now used internationally, in The Lancet Planetary Health in 2022. Her longitudinal studies on greening and mental, physical, and social health (e.g., loneliness) have generated many highly cited landmark papers that have informed policymaking, including the planting of 1 million trees in Sydney by 2022 by the NSW Government.
Professor Feng’s research has been recognized through commissioned publications for The Conversation [over 100,000 views across five articles], the World Economic Forum, Croakey and Landscape Architecture Australia. It has been featured in stories by mainstream Australian media including the ABC, SBS, The Canberra Times, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, C10 ‘The Project’, and Channel 7 ‘Weekender’, as well as many international news organizations including CGTN, Pacific Standard, International Business Times, 1News New Zealand, and The Guardian. Her research has also been recognised with national awards from peak Australian organizations in research (eg Cardiovascular Society for Australia and New Zealand 2024; Council for Academic Public Health Institutions in Australia 2014) and industry (eg Parks and Leisure Australia 2019).
Professor Feng has mentored 10 ECR staff members at UNSW and supervised 11 PhD students to completion so far. She is the Chair of the 30+ member UNSW Faculty of Medicine and Health Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee (MHEDIC). She is Co-Chair of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Capacity Building and Education Committee (). She is a steering committee member of UNSW Faculty of Medicine Cardiac, Vascular and Metabolic Medicine Theme and was an elected member of the UNSW Academic Board from July 2021 to Dec 2023.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
2023- 2027 PANDATrial:PhysicalActivity inNature for CardiometabolicDiseases in PeopleAged 45y+, funded by MRFF Effective Treatments and Therapies: $1.5M (CIB) and project co-lead
2022- 2027Healthy 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.
2021-2022Uptake and effectiveness of a,funded by UNSW CVMM Research Theme: $150K, Co-Principal Investigator
2020-2023Better Parks, Healthier for All?, funded by NHMRC and UKRI: $1.45M (CIA in Australia)
2021-2022The risks of planting and not planting large shade trees along our streets, funded byDepartment 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 byUniversities Australia/DAAD: $50,000 (CIA in Australia)
2018-2022 NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (GNT1148792), funded byNational Health and Medical Research Council: $431,000 (CIA)
2016-2021Greener 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 byNational Health and Medical Research Council:$714,266 (CIB)
2021 T
2021 UNSW Faculty of Medicine and Health -
2021 UNSW Teaching Award Nomination - Students' Choice
2021
2019Parks and Leisure Australia/NationalResearch Award (winner)
2019Parks and Leisure NSW/ACTResearch Award (winner)
2018
2017)
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(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)
by UNSW School of Population Health
by City of Sydney: my research quoted on pdf page 20, 50 and 72.
by Wollongong Council: my research quoted on page 12, 13, 42.
- Sanctuary Magazine, Page 90, issue 52, spring 2020
-CUA, 2020
"" - the Conversation, 16 March 2020
"" – SBS, 4 Feb 2020
"" - SBS, 15 Jan 2020
"" - the Conversation, 27 July 2019
"" -ABC, 08 Aug2019
"" - SMH, 28 Feb2018
My Teaching
Course Convenor: PHCM9612 Environmental Health, Term 2 (from 2020) with 100% students' satisfaction scores in year 2021 and 2022, according to UNSW anonymoussurvey.
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)