email: katerina.machacova@fhs.cuni.cz, katerina.machacova@pohybprozivot.cz

Mgr. Kateřina Macháčová, Ph.D., is a researcher specializing in gerontology, physical activity, and long-term care. She graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Charles University in Prague, where she also completed her Ph.D. in 2009, focusing on the assessment of physical fitness among older adults. Her international experience includes working at the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University (USA) from 2007 to 2010, where she focused on movement and mobility research in advanced age.

From 2012 to 2014, she co-developed SEMAFORhome, a methodology for identifying architectural barriers in home environments for individuals with mobility limitations, which is now actively used by occupational therapists and integrated into university curricula in the Czech Republic. In 2017, she founded the "Movement for Life" initiative, promoting an active lifestyle and extending healthy life expectancy. She also developed the "Permanento" exercise program, based on developmental kinesiology principles, which has been empirically validated through a research project funded by the Czech Health Research Council (AZV NU22-09-00447: 2022-2025).

She is an active member of the Centre for the Study of Longevity and Long-Term Care (CELLO) and represents the International Longevity Centre for the Czech Republic. Since February 1, 2025, Kateřina has been a member of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University. She is the editor and co-author of the monograph "Active Gerontology or How to Age Well", along with numerous peer-reviewed publications.Her research focuses on active aging and innovative approaches to improving adherence and sustainability in movement programs. She is dedicated to changing societal perceptions of physical activity, promoting movement as an integral part of everyday life, and inspiring systemic change to engage people of all ages in an active lifestyle.