Dr Bai Li - Our People - University Of Bristol

BackDr Bai Li

BA, MSc, PhD

Expertise

Working with policy makers, Bai integrates behavioural science, systems science and epidemiological methods to develop and evaluate complex interventions to tackle global challenges e.g. obesity, undernutrition and climate change.

• Global health, Childhood obesity, Malnutrition in all its form, Double burden of malnutrition, Systems science, Grandparents, Informal child care, China, Southeast Asia, Public Health, Low and middle income countries

Current positions

• Associate Professor in Global Health

  School for Policy Studies

Contact

• [email protected]
• School for Policy Studies8 Priory RoadCliftonBristol, BS8 1TZ
• +44 117 455 8280

Press and media

Many of our academics speak to the media as experts in their field of research. If you are a journalist, please contact the University’s Media and PR Team:

• +44 117 428 2489
• [email protected]

Edit profile

Biography

Specialised in the development and evaluation of complex health interventions and policies in LMICs, Bai has co-authored with policy makers from 46 countries and led multi-nation projects to generate evidence used by such bodies as WHO, OECD, World Obesity Federation, State Council of China, New Zealand Ministry of Health, Switzerland Federal Food Safety Office, and Czech Republic Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Bai has a track record of leading international advocacy, methodological innovations (e.g. address global syndemic) and the 1st reporting guidelines development (LEVERAGE) for methods rooted in systems science. She leads the SYSTAM International Consortium, comprising Ministries of Health in the SEA region and WHO offices to develop and monitor systemic, national level interventions tackling all forms of malnutrition. She designed and co-edited the first journal collection dedicated to systems approach to tackling global nutrition challenges (72 authors from 13 countries). She chaired international symposia in different countries to share the 1st empirical experience of applying a systems approach to nutrition interventions in HICs and LMICs. She led the evaluation of the world's first, multi-sector regulatory intervention on sedentary behaviour among children, providing the first, real-world evidence for regulatory interventions on sedentary behaviour. Bai is a member of World Obesity Federation Policy and Prevention Committee which guides global policy on obesity and related NCDs, and leads the City Futures Theme at the Cabot Institute for the Environment.Bai's contributions to global health and behavioural medicine have been recognised by prestigious awards from the ISBNPA, The Lancet, UKSBM and UKCO. Bai won the 2024 Practice Leadership Award from the Sedentary Behavioural Research Network.

Research interests

Bai is specialised in the development and evaluation of complex health interventions in LMICs. She has co-authored with policy makers from 46 countries, led multi-nation, inter-discipline research projects to generate impactful scientific outputs used by international bodies such as WHO, United Nations, World Obesity Federation, Asian Development Bank, the State Council of China and Switzerland Federal Food Safety Office. She has a track record of leading international advocacy and methodological innovations of methods rooted in system science. Bai's contributions to global health and behavioural medicine have been recognised by prestigious awards from the ISBNPA, The Lancet, UKSBM. Recently, Bai won the 2024 Practice Leadership Award from the Sedentary Behavioural Research Network (SBRN). Bai leads the City Futures Theme at the Cabot Institute for the Environment.

• Systems approach to develop, evaluate and implement population-level interventions to tackle global challenges (e.g. obesity, undernutrition and other diet-related chronic diseases)
• Global syndemic (malnutrition in all its forms and climate change)
• Regulatory interventions on sedentary behaviour
• Informal child care (e.g. role of grandparents) and childhood obesity
• Determinants and prevention of childhood obesity
• Mixed-methods, qualitative research
• Randomised controlled trial
• Process evaluation of interventions

Projects and supervisions

Research projects

• LEVERAGE Reporting Guidelines to advance application and development of System Dynamics, Agent Based Modeling and Social Netowork Analysis in health research and policy making

  • Bai Li

  Principal Investigator

  • Bai Li

  Description

  Systems science, reporting guideline, System Dyanmics, Agent Based Modeling, Social Network Analysis, Health intervention, Health policy, intervention development, intervention evaluation

  Managing organisational unit

  School for Policy Studies

  Dates

  01/01/2025 to 01/01/2026

  • FINISHED

• Western Pacific Innovation Symposium of System-Wide Nutrition Interventions and Surveillance

  • Bai Li

  Principal Investigator

  • Bai Li

  Managing organisational unit

  School for Policy Studies

  Dates

  15/11/2024 to 17/11/2024

  • FINISHED

• Transdisciplinary Development of The DE-CODE GLOBAL SYNDEMIC Research Consortium

  • Bai Li

  Principal Investigator

  • Bai Li

  Managing organisational unit

  School for Policy Studies

  Dates

  17/11/2023 to 19/04/2024

  • FINISHED

• DE-CODE Research Consortium International, Multi-faculty, Transdisciplinary Workshops

  • Bai Li

  Principal Investigator

  • Bai Li

  Managing organisational unit

  School for Policy Studies

  Dates

  16/11/2023 to 19/04/2024

  • FINISHED

• The Southeast Asia Training and Collaboration Centre for Systemic Nutrition Interventions

  • Bai Li

  Principal Investigator

  • Bai Li

  Managing organisational unit

  School for Policy Studies

  Dates

  28/02/2023 to 31/01/2028

  • RUNNING

View all projects

Publications

Selected publications

18/09/2023

Cultural adaptations and methodological innovations to Group Model Building for the Systems Actions to Reduce Malnutrition In All Its Forms in Southeast Asian Countries and China (SYSTAM CHINA-SEACS International Consortium) project

• Bai Li, 
• et al.

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

• Article
• Published

04/10/2023

National nutrition surveillance programmes in 18 countries in South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions

• Remco P J Peters, 
• et al.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization

• Article
• Published

26/07/2022

Improving the reporting of intervention studies underpinned by a systems approach to address obesity or other public health challenges

• Bai Li, 
• et al.

Frontiers in Public Health

• Comment/debate
• E-pub ahead of print

26/11/2019

The CHIRPY DRAGON intervention in preventing obesity in Chinese primary-school aged children

• Bai Li, 
• et al.

PLOS Medicine

• Article
• Published

Recent publications

22/01/2026

The role of physical activity in the prevention and management of obesity

• Zoe Gowers, 
• et al.

Obesity Reviews

• Article
• Accepted/In press

01/01/2025

Adherence to a traditional Chinese diet and its association with non-communicable diseases and mortality

• Jizhao Niu, 
• et al.

• Conference abstract
• Accepted/In press

01/01/2025

Adherence to the traditional Chinese diet and its association with environmental impacts

• Jizhao Niu, 
• et al.

• Conference abstract
• Accepted/In press

01/03/2025

Shifting the way we conceptualise, research and intervene childhood obesity in China and Southeast Asian countries

• Bai Li, 
• Boyd Swinburn

The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

• Article
• Published

07/08/2025

Neglecting obesity in the 2025 NCD agenda will leave one billion people behind

• Bai Li, 
• et al.

The BMJ

• Comment/debate
• Published

View all publications

Teaching

Bai was the Programme Director for MRes Health and Wellebing (2020-2024) and MSc Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health (2023-2024).Bai directs the following teaching units:

1.Dissertation Unit within the MSc Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health programme2.Global Health Policy Evidence Toolkit Unit within the MSc Global Health Policy programme3.Contemporary Debates in Lifestyle Behaviours and Public Health Unit within the MRes Health and Well-Being programme4.Child Nutrition, Activity and Health Unit (year 3) within the BSc Childhood Studies programme

PhD supervisionMs Animah ZahirThesis title: Transition from tranditional nutrition interventions to complex, systemic nutrition intervention in Southeast Aisa.Ms Yufeng Ouyang, funded by CSC-UoU ScholarshipThesis title:Assessing maternal and child nutrition policies and interventions in China and Southeast Asian CountriesMs Jizhao Niu, funded by CSC-UoB ScholarshipThesis title: Traditional Chinese diet and NCDs Ms Shiyao, Li, partially funded by the CHIRPY DRAGON project fundThesis title: A Mixed Methods Study to Explore Childhood Obesity Prevention in China

Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alharbi (completed), competitively funded by the Saudi governmentThesis title: Using a systems approach to the development of childhood obesity prevention interventions in Saudi Arabia.

Dr Mandana Zanganeh (Completed), competitively funded by a College PhD Studentship

Thesis tile: Cost effectiveness of a school based childhood obesity prevention intervention in a Chinese setting.

Related people

• Professor Keith Syrett

  Professor of Health Law and Policy

  University of Bristol Law School

• 

  Professor Angeliki Papadaki

  Professor of Public Health Nutrition

  School for Policy Studies

• 

  Professor Frank De Vocht

  Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health

  Bristol Medical School (PHS)

Feedback