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Alessandro R Demaio

Medical Doctor; Co-Founded NCDFREE and festival21; Associate Researcher, University of Copenhagen

Dr Demaio trained and worked as a medical doctor at The Alfred Hospital in Australia. While practising as a doctor he completed a Masters in Public Health including fieldwork in Cambodia to develop and evaluate a community-based, culturally appropriate health intervention for noncommunicable diseases, particularly diabetes.

In 2010, Alessandro relocated to Denmark where he completed a PhD with the University of Copenhagen, focusing on noncommunicable diseases. His doctoral research was based in Mongolia, working with the Ministry of Health. He designed, led and reported a national epidemiological survey, sampling more than 3500 households to better understand national knowledge, attitudes and practices on noncommunicable diseases and risk factors and provide policy recommendations to address them.

Alessandro held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School from 2013 to 2015, and was assistant professor and course director in global health at the Copenhagen School of Global Health, in Denmark. He has established and led the PLOS blog Translational Global Health, and has served on the Advisory Board of the EAT Initiative: the global, multi-stakeholder platform for food, health and environmental sustainability. To date, he has authored over 20 scientific publications and more than 80 blog articles.

In his pro bono work, Dr Demaio co-founded NCDFREE, a global social movement against noncommunicable diseases using social media, short film and leadership events – reaching more than 2.5 million people in its first 18 months. Then, in 2015, he founded festival21, assembling and leading a team of knowledge leaders in staging a massive and unprecedented, free celebration of community, food, culture and future in his hometown Melbourne.

In November 2015, Alessandro joined the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at the World Health Organization (Geneva), as Medical Officer for noncommunicable conditions and nutrition.

While a staff member of the World Health Organization, Alessandro alone is responsible for the views expressed in this column, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of the World Health Organization.

Seven essential tips to breaking up with sugar

Dec 07, 2016 23:23 pm UTC| Health

As we come to the end of 2016, many of us start to look back and reflect. The year has been defining even redefining in many ways. Politics, technology and culture have all seen major leaps and in some cases, hurdles....

Three important wins for addressing obesity

Nov 24, 2016 01:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

When it comes to obesity in Australia, the statistics are alarming - and generally getting worse. The national prevalence of obesity has increased significantly over the past few decades. Roughly three in ten...

When it comes to food, could 'reactive' sometimes be best?

Oct 06, 2016 14:35 pm UTC| Health

True for almost all situations in life, being proactive is best. And this has been a formative lesson in my time so far: whether reaching out to a potential mentor that inspired me and making time for a coffee and a chat,...

Why obesity is not a 'left versus right' issue

Aug 26, 2016 08:46 am UTC| Health

Alessandro R Demaio, Medical Doctor; Co-Founded NCDFREE and festival21; Associate Researcher, University of Copenhagen Left or right, we should all be urging action on obesity. libertarianism...

Six reasons why food is a really big deal

Jun 09, 2016 08:18 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

Its easy to forget the power of what is on our dinner plate. Between the instagram post, or the quick fix meal, the snack at our desk or the breakfast on the run - its not a surprise we might overlook the incredible...

Economy

Malaysia Central Bank Moves to Support Ringgit Amid Foreign Fund Outflows

Malaysias central bank has announced new measures to support the ringgit after the currency weakened more than 4% in June, driven largely by foreign investor caution and expectations of higher U.S. interest rates. Bank...

Bessent Says U.S. Must Strengthen Supply Chains and Economic Security

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is focused on strengthening supply chain resilience to protect critical industries from economic disruptions, pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and...

South Korea Remains MSCI Emerging Market Despite Reform Progress

South Korea will remain classified as an emerging market by MSCI after the global index provider decided not to upgrade the country to developed market status in its latest market accessibility review released on Tuesday....

South Korea’s KOSPI Rebounds as Samsung and SK Hynix Lead Tech Stock Recovery

South Koreas benchmark KOSPI index staged a strong recovery on Wednesday, climbing 3.4% to 8,480.21 points after suffering a sharp sell-off in the previous session. The rebound was driven largely by gains in major...

Australia Inflation Cools in May, But Core CPI Keeps RBA Rate Hike Risks Alive

Australias inflation rate eased more than expected in May, offering signs that price pressures may be gradually cooling and strengthening the case for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep interest rates unchanged in...

Politics

US Senate Approves War Powers Resolution Urging Trump to End Iran Military Action

The U.S. Senate has approved a war powers resolution directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military involvement in Iran, marking a significant congressional challenge to the administrations foreign policy. The...

Crimea Power Outage After Ukrainian Drone Attack, Russian Authorities Say

Power supplies were disrupted in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-annexed Crimea, following what local Russian-installed authorities described as a Ukrainian attack on energy infrastructure. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the...

Cait Conley Wins Democratic Nomination, Sets Up Key House Battle Against Mike Lawler in New York

Cait Conley, a U.S. Army veteran and former national security official, has secured the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in New Yorks highly competitive 17th Congressional District. The...

U.S. Eases Iran Team Travel Restrictions Ahead of Seattle World Cup Match

The United States has relaxed travel restrictions for Irans national soccer team ahead of its upcoming FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, allowing the squad to enter the country two days before kickoff instead of just one...

Peru Election Dispute Deepens as Roberto Sanchez Rejects Runoff Results

Perus presidential election dispute intensified on Tuesday after leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez announced that he would not recognize the outcome of the tightly contested presidential runoff, alleging electoral fraud...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic AI Model Uncovers Vulnerabilities in Classified U.S. Government Systems During Security Test

Anthropics advanced artificial intelligence model identified vulnerabilities in classified U.S. government computer systems during a recent security testing exercise, according to a report by the Associated Press citing a...

Samsung Electronics Stock Surges on Report of Massive $59 Billion Share Buyback Plan

Samsung Electronics shares rallied sharply on Wednesday after a report suggested the company could launch a substantial share buyback program worth nearly 90 trillion won ($59 billion) over the next three years. The...

SK Hynix Moves Closer to New York ADR Listing Amid AI Chip Boom

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix is reportedly preparing to take a major step toward a U.S. market debut by filing documents for an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) offering with South Koreas financial regulator....

Cerebras Revenue Forecast Tops Expectations, but Margin Concerns Weigh on Stock

Cerebras Systems delivered a strong revenue outlook for 2026 that exceeded Wall Street expectations, but investors remained cautious as the companys profit margin forecast highlighted the challenges of competing with AI...

SpaceX Stock Rebounds After Sharp Selloff, But Valuation Concerns Persist

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) recovered modestly on Tuesday, closing 0.9% higher at $156.06 after briefly falling below its post-IPO opening price during intraday trading. The stock touched a low of $147.11, slipping beneath the...