Biography – INMD Scientific Director: Dr. Mary Jung

Dr. Mary Jung is a Professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Okanagan Campus, located in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples. Dr. Jung completed her doctorate at the University of Saskatchewan and postdoctoral fellowship at Western University. Dr. Jung was an early career CIHR Foundation Grant recipient in 2014-2019, a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar in 2015-2020, and a Killam Accelerator Research Fellow in 2023-2025. Dr. Jung served as the inaugural director of UBC’s Centre for Health Behaviour Change, and as the equity, diversity, and inclusivity lead for the School of Health and Exercise Sciences as well as for the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology.

The central theme of Dr. Jung’s research is implementation science in chronic disease prevention and management, with a commitment towards improving equity, diversity, inclusivity, and decolonization in all research endeavours. Dr. Jung leads national and international efforts to understand how to implement diabetes prevention programs sustainably, optimize inclusive access, and ensure intervention cost-effectiveness without reducing efficacy. Dr. Jung developed the diabetes prevention program Small Steps for Big Changes, and, in partnership with multiple not-for-profit organizations, is now delivering the program in 45 locations across 3 countries and 8 provinces in Canada.

Dr. Mary Jung was appointed as Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, effective January 1, 2026. During Dr. Jung’s term, the Institute will be based at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus.

Date modified:

2026-01-16