Rate My Professor Emma Pollock

Dr Emma Pollock is a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Education and a Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Health and Physical Education (Honours), both awarded by the University of Newcastle. Serving as a Health Promotion Officer and Postdoctoral Researcher at Hunter New England Population Health since April 2022, Dr Pollock's academic interests center on promoting physical activity and wellbeing among children and adolescents. Her research examines barriers and facilitators to physical activity participation, addresses gender biases and stereotypes in sport, fundamental movement skill training, evaluation of teacher education courses, and the effectiveness of school- and community-based health promotion interventions.

Dr Pollock's career encompasses pivotal roles in physical activity research and program delivery at the University of Newcastle, including Project Manager for the Daughters & Dads Cricket and Basketball projects (2020-2022), Dads And Daughters Exercising and Empowered (DADEE) program (2016-2020), Resistance Training for Teens (2015-2016), and Healthy Dads Healthy Kids translation (2014-2017), alongside earlier positions as Research Assistant and secondary PDHPE Teacher for the NSW Department of Education and Training (2009-2014). She has garnered significant recognition, including the 2023 School of Education Best Thesis Award, 2021 University of Newcastle Higher Degree Achievement Award and Research Output Scheme Funding Winner, 2020 Hunter Medical Research Institute Research Team of the Year Award, 2020 Australasian Green Gown Award for Benefiting Society, 2019 Faculty 3-Minute Thesis Winner and Conference Travel Scholarship, and multiple University of Newcastle Postgraduate Research Scholarships (2017, 2019). Key publications feature 'Effects of a Father-Daughter Physical Activity Intervention Delivered by Trained Facilitators in the Community Setting on Girls' Social-Emotional Well-Being: A Randomized Controlled Trial' (Developmental Psychology, 2023), 'Establishing Effectiveness of a Community-based, Physical Activity Program for Fathers and Daughters: A Randomized Controlled Trial' (Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2022), 'Engaging Fathers to Increase Physical Activity in Girls: The "Dads And Daughters Exercising and Empowered" (DADEE) Randomized Controlled Trial' (Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2019), 'Impact of a Father-Daughter Physical Activity Intervention: An Exploration of Fathers' Experiences' (Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2020), and 'Understanding the impact of a teacher education course on attitudes towards gender equity in physical activity and sport: An exploratory mixed methods evaluation' (Teaching and Teacher Education, 2021). Dr Pollock's contributions have advanced evidence-based family and school interventions, enhancing physical activity engagement and social-emotional outcomes for youth.