MrsMartha Blanco Silva

Martha is a Research Associate in Systems Thinking at the Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health. Her research focuses on understanding how complex social, environmental and urban systems shape health, with a particular interest in using systems approaches to inform healthier and more sustainable environments.

In her current research, she is investigating the relationship between land use and the double burden of malnutrition, with a focus on how changes in agricultural, urban and natural land systems can influence food environments and population health. Her work combines participatory systems approaches, system dynamics and other complexity-informed methods to engage with stakeholders and explore pathways for policy and intervention.

She holds a Doctorate in Engineering, with a focus on Systems Thinking and Complexity Science, from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Her previous research has used social network analysis and system dynamics to investigate how community-level social relationships and the urban built environment interact to shape healthy behaviours, particularly physical activity. She has also applied a range of systems approaches to research on co-creation, active transportation and urban health.