Aïna Chalabaev: Leading the Scientific Coordination of YEAH! from Ideation to Implementation

Professor of Sport Psychology at Grenoble Alpes University, Aïna Chalabaev has been the scientific coordinator of the European project YEAH! from the very beginning. Her involvement spans the full lifecycle of the project, from initial concept to ongoing supervision. She acts as the scientific conductor, ensuring that every deliverable, task, and decision remains aligned with the project’s scientific goals and core values of equity.

A project born from a workshop, and fertile scientific ground

YEAH! emerged from an international workshop on digital health interventions, organized in conjunction with the PhD defense of Alexandre Mazéas. The event brought together leading researchers to reflect on how digital tools can promote healthy behaviors. Quickly, the ambition extended beyond academia to take shape as a full-scale European project.

Upon identifying a relevant Horizon Europe call closely aligned with the workshop’s theme, Aïna initiated a collaborative scientific design process, structured the early consortium, and reached out to the UGA’s project support services to strengthen the strategic and logistical foundation.

Coordinating the science, and everything around it

From the very first stage of the application process, Aïna played a central role: defining scientific objectives, shaping the consortium, writing the project concept, and crafting the expected societal impact. With support from a consultant specializing in EU projects, she developed a robust and realistic impact strategy to meet the high expectations of the European Commission.

During the much more demanding second phase, she oversaw the entire scientific plan: randomized controlled trials, case studies involving at-risk adolescents, and more. She also anticipated ethical, legal, and technical challenges—such as the choice of wearable devices or the inclusion of social network components for youth participants.

Maintaining the scientific focus, day after day

Day-to-day, Aïna continually reinforces YEAH!’s founding ambition: to promote physical activity among young people while reducing health inequalities. She ensures that every working group keeps this inclusive focus in mind—designing interventions that work equally well for girls and boys, for youth with overweight as well as the more active.

Her coordination work, though scientific in nature, also requires technical decision-making, collective arbitration, and subtle diplomacy with European partners. She remains actively engaged throughout the project to ensure scientific coherence and integrity.

A long-term vision for youth health

In the end, Aïna Chalabaev embodies the scientific core of YEAH! in all its complexity. Her ability to unite, anticipate, adapt, and champion an inclusive vision makes her one of the project’s essential, if often unseen, pillars.