What’s your name and where are you from?
My name is Xin Zheng, and I am from China.
Where are you working and who are your supervisors?
I am currently working as fellow 4 based at Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands. My supervisors are Mai Chin A Paw (Department of Public and Occupational Health) and Wessel van Wieringen (Department of Epidemiology and Data Science).
What’s your educational background?
I completed my master’s degree in Statistics and Data Science at KU Leuven, Belgium. Before that, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at Shanghai Jiaotong University, China.
What was the last professional or educational activity you carried out before joining LABDA, and how did you decide to join LABDA from there?
Before joining LABDA in Amsterdam, I worked full-time as a data analyst in the healthcare industry. During this time, life heightened my awareness of the importance of physical activity and its benefits to occupational health. This realization led me to pursue research in this field through LABDA. I believe LABDA provides an excellent opportunity for me to deepen my interdisciplinary knowledge and develop transferable skills.
What’s your PhD topic?
My PhD research topic is “Temporal data analysis of 24/7 human movement behavior and its value for health“.
Human movement behavior is complex and multidimensional: different movement intensities (e.g., sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity) are accumulated and alternated throughout the day and week.
The main research gap I’m addressing is the lack of understanding about how different movement sequences may have varying health effects, regardless of the total time spent at each intensity. My project aims to advance existing and develop novel methods for temporal data analysis of human behavior.
I’m applying advanced statistical methods to mine temporal patterns in 24/7 accelerometer data, exploring data-driven techniques to identify subgroups with similar temporal behavior patterns, and determining the implications of different patterns of physical activities in daily life on health outcomes.
What would you like to achieve with your research work and what impact would you like to have?
Ultimately, I aim to provide evidence-based recommendations to policymakers in public health, contributing to better health for all. By understanding the complex relationships between movement patterns and health outcomes, we can develop more effective interventions and guidelines for physical activity.
What’s your role within LABDA?
Within LABDA, my role is to assist the Research Coordinator in monitoring research progress and ensuring alignment across different work packages.
Can you tell us one personal thing about you that is weird and/or funny?
Unlike some others, I greatly enjoy the rainy, cold, unpredictable weather in the Netherlands. It’s a quirk that often surprises my colleagues!
