Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Catherine M. Capio

This feature marks the final installment of UP CAMP’s Alumni Spotlight Series highlighting the recipients of the CAMP Luminary Awards. Awarded during the College’s Foundation Month celebrations in November 2025, the CAMP Luminary Awards recognize alumni whose exceptional achievements and service have advanced their professions and created meaningful impact in society.

Among the awardees is Dr. Catherine M. Capio, recipient of the CAMP Luminary Award for Global Impact – Asia, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to research, education, and leadership in the fields of motor development, motor learning, and health promotion.

A physical therapist by training, Dr. Capio has built an internationally recognized career that bridges research, practice, education, and public policy. Her academic journey has taken her across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, earning advanced degrees and specialized training in ergonomics, psychomotor therapy, neuroscience, and physical activity.. She completed her PhD at the University of Hong Kong and has since assumed academic and leadership positions in Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Dr. Capio’s research has significantly advanced understanding of motor development and its relationship to children’s health and well-being. Her work has explored motor learning in children with and without disabilities, the benefits of errorless motor learning, and the links between motor proficiency, cognitive development, and psychosocial outcomes. Through competitive research funding and international collaborations, her work has achieved broad scholarly impact and global recognition.

Despite her international career, Dr. Capio has remained actively engaged with the Philippines. She has contributed to initiatives promoting physical activity and child health, including helping establish the Philippine Report Card for the Global Alliance for Active Healthy Kids. She has also shared her expertise through lectures and keynote presentations at major national conferences and has mentored health sciences researchers in the country for nearly a decade.

Today, Dr. Capio serves as Associate Dean for Innovation and Research at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, where she leads research capacity-building initiatives and promotes international educational partnerships. She is also a founding member and Hong Kong representative of the International Society for Research Advocacy for Developmental Coordination Disorder (ISRA-DCD) and serves on the leadership of the Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity (ASPA).

UP CAMP proudly celebrates Dr. Capio’s remarkable contributions to advancing child development, public health, and movement sciences, and her enduring commitment to improving lives through research, education, and global collaboration.