Carry Renders (Associate Professor at the Department of Health Sciences, VU Amsterdam) is an epidemiologist with a keen interest in integrated community-based approaches and system-based approaches to stimulate a healthy lifestyle in children, adolescents and their families.
After obtaining her MSc at Radboud University Nijmegen (1995) she was first affiliated to the Department of General Practice, then to the Department of Public and Occupational Health (section youth health care) and the EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care research. In addition, she has been manager of the National Knowledge Centre Overweight (2002-2010, subsidised by the Ministry of VWS). Since 2009, she has been affiliated with the Department of Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She has also been seconded for a small part to Windesheim University of Applied Sciences (2005-2022), first as research coordinator and then as associate lector at the Healthy Cities lectorate and the Healthy Society lectorate, respectively.
Her research focuses on integrated research of upstream and downstream determinants of behavioural change aimed at improving a healthy lifestyle in children, adolescents and their families. Research methods include epidemiological research, systems approaches as well as qualitative methods such as focus groups and participatory action research. Research settings are real-life (families, schools and neighbourhoods) and projects usually integrate research, practice and policy.