DrKaat Philippe

Dr Kaat Philippe is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin.

She is trained as a Clinical and Health Psychologist (KU Leuven, BE) and completed an additional degree in Child Studies (Jönköping University, SE). Her PhD project (CSGA/INRAE/UBFC, FR) focused on the study of maternal and paternal feeding practices and young children’s eating behaviours, by using qualitative and quantitative research methods. This work was part of the european ITN Marie Skłodowska-Curie project Edulia. 

From March 2022 to December 2024, Dr Philippe has worked at UCD with Dr Catherine Phillips on the "First 1000 days Strategies to Prevent Childhood Obesity" project (acronym EndObesity). This multidisciplinary, european project aimed to develop, implement and evaluate innovative, multi-disciplinary strategies for prevention of childhood obesity by targeting family-based lifestyle factors in the pre-conception period, pregnancy and early childhood, covering the first 1000 days of life. 

From June 2024 to September 2025, Dr Philippe worked on a systematic review with Dr Ross Neville to identify key contributors to well-being in children in Ireland, based on evidence from the Growing Up in Ireland cohorts. This work was commissioned by the Irish Department of Children, Disability, and Equality.

Since October 2025, Dr Philippe is coordinating the project PremEat, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie global fellowship co-hosted by UCD and the Univeristy of Zurich, and co-created with the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance and Frühchen Schweiz. The aim of this project is to explore the experiences and support needs of parents, children and healthcare professionals regarding preterm children’s eating behaviour beyond infancy (2-6 years) in Ireland and Switzerland.