Belen Zapata-Diomedi

Belen is a public health researcher specialising in modelling health and health-related economic impacts of city planning and transport scenarios. At RMIT Belen co-leads the project Joining Impact models of transport with spatial measures of the Built Environment (https://jibeproject.com/our-people/) funded by Funded by the UK Medical Research (UKRI) and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). JIBE brings together research linking the built environment, transport and other health behaviours to develop computer models that can better inform urban and transport planning policy and practice in Australia and the UK. Belen also leads a VicHealth funded project, Developing tools for knowledge translation in transport and health modelling, where knowledge translation tools are under development to facilitate the use of complex modelling results into practice. Belen also led the development of the THAT-Melbourne model (https://auo.org.au/transport-health-assessment/) building on her PhD work and fellowship at the University of Cambridge and now leads the methodological developments for THAT-Brisbane. Belen was awarded an RMIT VC Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2019.