Keynote Speakers
Prof. Yawei Cheng
M.D., Ph.D.
Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
Dr. Yawei Cheng holds the esteemed position of a Distinguished Professor and serves as the Director of the Institute of Neuroscience at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. Additionally, she is the director of the Social Neuroscience Laboratory and serves as the physiatrist, taking charge of the Child Development and Early Intervention Center at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital (Yilan). Dr. Cheng’s research is centered on social neuroscience, employing behavioral assessments, fMRI, and EEG/ERP methodologies grounded in social cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and psychopathology. Her investigations aim to uncover the neurobiological foundations of human social interaction, with a specific emphasis on the neural mechanisms underlying empathy and morality. It encompasses diverse neurobiological circuits and partially distinct social, emotional, and cognitive subsystems that collaborate and operate in parallel. Dr. Cheng is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Life Science at National Yang Ming University, the Outstanding Research Award from the Taiwan Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2022, and honored as a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) in 2021. She also received the Outstanding Research Award from the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology in 2016, Wu Da-You Memorial Award, Young Investigator Project of the National Science Council in 2011, and Senior Fulbright Research Grant in 2019.
Prof. Youngho Kim
Ph.D.
Department of Sports Sciences, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Korea
Dr. Youngho Kim is a professor in the Department of Sports Science at Seoul National University of Science and Technology. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wollongong, Australia, in 1998, specializing in health and exercise psychology. Currently, Dr. Kim serves as the President of the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP), Vice-President of the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP), and as Section Editor (Exercise and Health: Social Aspects and Interventions) for the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (IJSEP). He is also an Associate Editor (Exercise Psychology) for the Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (AJSEP) and Vice President of the Korea Society of Sport Psychology. His research focuses on the psychosocial correlates of physical activity in various contexts, particularly emphasizing physical activity and its related psychosocial constructs based on psychosocial theories. Dr. Kim has published over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at more than 180 international conferences. Notably, he has consistently secured research grants from the Korean government since 2003, including a recent funding of USD 250,000 from the National Research Foundation.
Assoc. Prof. Garry Kuan
Ph.D.
Exercise and Sports Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Associate Professor Dr. Garry Kuan is a lecturer at the Exercise and Sports Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia, and a research fellow at the Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, United Kingdom. Presently, Dr. Garry is the Secretary-General of the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP), the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Sport Psychology Association (MASPA), an executive board member of the Asian Council of Sports Science (ACESS), and the scientific committee of the World Exercise Medicine (WCEM). Since 2019, Dr. Garry has been appointed the Chair of the International Network of the Young Scientist Network – Academy of Science Malaysia (YSN-ASM) and the Sport Psychology Panelist for the National Coaching Academy of Malaysia. Dr. Garry has published over 300 scholarly manuscripts, with over 130 high-impact ISI journals, and has served as an editor and reviewer in numerous international journals. His research has won numerous international awards. Dr Garry is the recipient of the 2023 National Sports Technology Innovation Champion, 2022 Malaysian Book of Record – Human Achievement, 2021 International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) Developing Scholar Award, 2021 JCI Top Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian, the 2020 IFPEFSSA International Eminent Educator Award, A-CIPA Young Researcher Award at the 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology, International Scholars Award at the ICSEMIS pre-Olympic conference, and the Atsushi Fujita Research Scholarship at the 6th ASPASP conference. In his leadership role, Garry was awarded the Australian Leadership Award (2013) and Victoria Ambassador Award Young Person. During his social time, he professionally played the first violin and taught communities to play various musical instruments.
Dr. Naruepon Vongjaturapat
Ph.D.
Faculty of Sport Science, Burapha University, Thailand
Dr. Vongjaturapat received his Doctoral of Philosophy Degree in Human Performance concentrated on Exercise and Sport Psychology from Oregon State University, USA, in 1993. He received his Master (M.Ed.) and Bachelor Degree in Education (B.Ed.) emphasized on Physical Education from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, USA, and Srinakharinwirot University, PE Campus, Thailand, respectively. He has currently served as the Dean of the Faculty of Sport Science at Burapha University, Thailand. His areas of interest are exercise and sport motivation, long-term athlete development (LTAD), psychological skill training, and research methodology for exercise and sport science as well as physical activity. More than 70 of his studies related to exercise behavior, sport, and exercise psychology for athletes, coaches, and parents have been published and presented. He has also worked with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation for 15 years. Dr. Vongjaturapat has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for 35 years, as well as supervised 32 PhD and master students in exercise and sport psychology. He has served as the president of the Thailand Applied Sport Psychology Associations, vice president (membership) and treasurer of the Asian and South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP), vice president of the Sport Science Society of Thailand (SSST), vice president of the Thailand Swimming Association, and managing council member for the Thai Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (TAHPER). He has received a national outstanding scholar award from Sirinthorn Princess, two national academic outstanding awards from the Sport Authority of Thailand, and an outstanding public service award from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Dr. Vongjaturapat has worked as a sports psychologist for Thai national athletes, mainly in tennis and swimming, since 1993 for the Olympic, Asian, and SEA Games.
Invited Speakers
Assoc. Prof. I-Hua Chu
PT, Ph.D.
Department of Sports Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan
Dr. I-Hua Chu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sports Medicine at Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan, and Director of the "Exercise Psychology and Behavior Laboratory." Dr. Chu is currently a board member of the Society for Sport and Exercise Psychology of Taiwan (SSEPT) and an editorial board member of the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (IJSEP). Dr. Chu is a consultant for the Sports Administration of the Ministry of Education. Additionally, Dr. Chu has been invited to serve as an advisory teacher for the "Sports Science Promotion Center" of the Army Command Headquarters, Marine Corps, and Air Force Academy. Dr. Chu’s research focuses on Sports and Exercise Psychology, especially concerning issues of "The impact of yoga on mental health and cardiac autonomic regulation," "The effects of exergames on physical fitness and cognitive function," and "Establishing assessment models using artificial intelligence." Dr. Chu has published over 40 international journal articles and translated two international academic books to date.
Prof. Jin Hwang
Ph.D.
Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Jeonbuk National University.
Jeonbuk, Korea.
Dr. Jin Hwang is a tenured professor at Jeonbuk National University, Korea, and the Director of the "Sport and Exercise Psychology Lab." Dr. Hwang is also currently the Vice-President of the “Korean Society of Sport Psychology (KSSP)" and the mental consultant for Jeonbuk Sports High & Middle School and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Youth F.C. Dr. Hwang’s research focuses on sports and exercise psychology, with a particular interest in issues such as "sports psychological counseling," "athletes' life skills and work-life balance," and "cultural social psychology." Dr. Hwang has published over 150 domestic and international journal articles in renowned journals. He is also the author of three textbooks on sports and exercise psychology. Dr. Hwang plays a crucial role in the Sports Policy Committee and offers psychological expertise to the Jeonbuk Ministry of Education.
Prof. San-Fu Kao
Ph.D.
Department of Kinesiology, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
Dr. San-Fu is a professor at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan. He served as the President of the Society for Sport and Exercise Psychology of Taiwan (SSPET) and is currently a member of the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP). Dr. San-Fu's primary interest lies in the field of sports and exercise psychology, with a specific focus on coaching leadership and group dynamics. He has published over 60 journal articles and has contributed as an editorial board member of the International Journal of Sports Sciences and Coaching (IJSSC) and Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology (CSSEP). He also served as the chief editor of the Bulletin of Sport and Exercise Psychology Taiwan (BSSEPT). Dr. Kao has a passion for mountain climbing, finding immense joy, and fulfillment in the experience of ascending high mountains. This recreational pursuit aligns with his professional interests, reflecting his dedication to the physical and psychological aspects of sports and exercise.
Prof. Ji-Hang Lee
Ph.D.
Department of Sport Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea
Dr. Ji-Hang Lee is the current department head of the Sport Science Department at Sungkyunkwan University, where he has led the Sport Psychology Laboratory for the last 20 years. Ji-Hang completed his BA degree at Sejong University in Korea. After working on the geriatric issues involved in gait and posture control with Dr. Jody Jensen (University of Texas, Austin) as a Master's degree student, Dr. Lee became interested in various gait problems associated with normal aging while working with Dr. Marjorie Woollacott (University of Oregon). For his Ph.D. program, Dr. Lee joined Dr. Paul van Donkelaar’s lab to shift his research focus to the cognitive-neuroscientific aspects of human motor control. During this period, Dr. van Donkelaar (University of British Columbia, Okanagan) and Dr. Lee published some of the first studies using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in sports science. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Lee moved to the University of Oxford (and later to the University of Birmingham) to work in Dr. Chris Miall’s Laboratory as a Post-Doc, where all possible experimental techniques and analyses in motor control and learning were available. During this period, Dr. Lee acquired various research experiences after working on projects using primate brain recordings, fMRI, TMS, and neurological diseases. In 2005, Dr. Lee took a lecturer position at Sunkyunkwan University, where he is still serving as a faculty member. The research themes at Sungkyunkwan University became abruptly diverse because he had to advise the whole Sport Psychology Program. With his graduate students, Dr. Lee has published numerous academic papers regarding psychological issues in competitive sports settings and ways to lead people to participate in exercise. Albeit the expansion of research interests, Dr. Lee continued to work and develop the research foci of cognitive motor control. From the issues of visual control of movements, expertise in tool-use skills, procedural learning, and mirror systems to (currently) kinesthetic perception and empathy, Dr. Lee has always tried to better understand and interpret the supremacy of movement experts from the cognitive neuroscience perspective. Dr. Lee also has deep passion as an academic advisor. More than 200 Master's and Doctoral degrees were awarded from his laboratory, and they have become valuable forces driving Korean sports psychology scenes. With the help of the newly joined co-leader, Dr. Hee-Tae Cho, the Sport Psychology Laboratory at Sunkyunkwan University has become one of Korea's most respected graduate programs in sports psychology.
Assoc. Prof. Chiao-Lin Nien
Ph.D.
Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taiwan
Dr. Chiao-Lin Nien is an Associate Professor at the National Taiwan University of Sport, Taiwan, as well as president of The Society for Sport and Exercise Psychology of Taiwan (SSPET). He also serves as the head of the Department of Physical Education at the National Taiwan University of Sport. Dr. Nien’s research focuses on the motivation aspect, SDT, and AGT. During his spare time, he exercised frequently. Running and cycling are two major sports of his recreation involvement, and from time to time, he also participated in triathlon and other events such as diving.
Assoc. Prof. Chatkamon Singnoy
Ph.D.
Faculty of Sport Science, Burapha University, Thailand
Dr. Chatkamon Singnoy is a researcher with expertise in exercise and sports science, specifically in sports psychology. His research focuses on factors affecting athlete burnout, mental toughness, perceived motivational climate, exercise attitudes, exercise imagery, and sports perfectionism. He has published several research articles in various peer-reviewed journals both in Thailand and internationally. As an experienced national delegate of the FIEPS and an editorial board member of Sports & Health Research Notes, Dr. Singnoy has made significant contributions to the fields of sports science and applied sports psychology. Additionally, Dr. Singnoy has served on the committees of the Sports Science Society of Thailand and Thailand Applied Sports Psychology Association. He has also authored textbooks and pocketbooks on sports psychology and is the founder of the Sport Psy Lab on Facebook and Sport Psychology Talk on YouTube. In addition, Dr. Singnoy has extensive experience as a sports psychologist working with athletes at various levels, including youth, international competitions, and professional careers. He is a sports psychology expert at the Sports Authority of Thailand and works closely with the Thailand national team at various levels of sports competitions, including the SEA Games, Asian Games, ASEAN Para Games, and Asian Para Games.
Dr. Teo Eng Wah, Vincent
Ph.D.
Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Malaya, Malaysia
Dr. Teo Eng Wah completed his Master's and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, United States of America. He is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Malaya, Malaysia. His research focuses on sports motivation, self-esteem, commitment, and physical education in Malaysian settings. Dr. Teo has published over 40 articles in international journals and six books on sports and wildlife. Dr. Teo was the former coordinator for the Bachelor of Sport Management programme (2017-2021) and the coordinator of Social Engagement & SULAM (2016-2023) at the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Malaya. Currently, he is the faculty coordinator for the internship program for the Bachelor of Sport Management programme.