My name is Julia Kontak and I am a PhD in Health Candidate at Dalhousie University. My research interests broadly focus on how to create supportive environments for health and well-being using a socio-ecological lens to health. Specifically, my doctoral research focuses on the Health Promoting Schools (HPS) model, student engagement and knowledge translation (KT). I also am a Research Associate at UpLift, a School-Community-Partnership that aims to catalyze HPS efforts across Nova Scotia (NS), and the Managing Editor of the Healthy Populations Journal – a student-led, peer-reviewed, open-access journal. I hold a Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Canada Graduate Student Doctoral (CGS-D) Award (2021 – 2024) and also received the Dalhousie’s President Award (2021 – 2023), and a NS Graduate Student Scholarship. Further, I have received external awards including the BRIC NS Graduate Student Award and the Heart & Stroke BrightRed Student Award. Prior to pursuing my PhD, I completed my MA in Health Promotion at Dalhousie University and worked at two leading health research organizations in NS for over six years including the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and the Maritime Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) SUPPORT Unit as a KT Coordinator. Based on my formal education and professional experience I have a strong background in qualitative, KT and evaluation methodologies as well as content knowledge on applied health research areas including population health, health promotion and child/youth development. In my spare time, I enjoy staying active by instructing fitness and yoga classes, as well as being an long-distance runner.