Sonja Kahlmeier heads the Health Department at FFHS with close to 20 staff and teaching programs on nutrition, health promotion and osteopathy . She also heads the health research, focusing on the topic of physical activity and health, where she deals with promoting policies and strategies as well as transport-related and economic approaches. She is particularly interested in upstream determinants of health and environmental health promotion. She previously worked for the World Health Organization and the Universities of Zurich and Basel. She holds holds a master's degree in environmental sciences from ETH Zurich, a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Basel, a habilitation in public health from the University of Zurich and a professorship at SUPSI.