Meet Dr. Taru Manyanga, Affiliate Assistant Professor, MPT-North.
Name:
Dr. Taru Manyanga
My pronouns:
He/him
Title:
Affiliate Assistant Professor
Campus:
Prince George
How long have you worked at the UBC Faculty of Medicine?
Four years.
Tell us about your research in one or two sentences:
My research focuses on promoting equitable access to opportunities for children and adolescents to live an active, healthy lifestyle. Specifically, I am interested in systematically monitoring lifestyle behaviours, such as physical activity, sedentary time and sleep, and examining their impact on overall health and fitness.
What’s your favourite thing about your work?
The opportunity to learn from and about young people’s lifestyle behaviours. I also deeply value the privilege of collaborating with local communities and international experts as we work together collaboratively to find sustainable solutions to the physical inactivity ‘pandemic.’
What do you hope will change as a result of this research?
I hope that our research will help to empower young people, particularly those from underrepresented communities, enabling them to lead in creating sustainable physical activity interventions that are relevant and accessible to their specific needs. Additionally, I hope for an intersectional lens to become integral in physical activity and health research, ensuring that we are actively working to minimize the unintended perpetuation of inequities in practice.
Are there any research collaborators you’d like to acknowledge and why?
Drs. Kristin Campbell and Janice Eng (Department of Physical Therapy) whose mentorship has been invaluable. Locally, Gloria Fox (Northern Health Authority) has been an indispensable collaborative partner, helping to ensure that our projects are designed with knowledge users’ input and support.
What makes you laugh?
Anything that reminds me not to take myself too seriously.
Published: July 2025