Barakatun Nisak Bt Mohd Yusof, is an Associate Professor and a practising dietitian in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). She currently holds a position as a Deputy Dean Academic (Health Sciences) and Students Affair at Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UPM. She is also a member of the Research Centre in Nutrition and Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases (NNCD) and Research Fellow at Youth Wellbeing and Social Health Laboratory, Institute for Social Science Study, UPM. Dr Nisak received her PhD in Dietetics from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia before completing the Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Joslin Diabetes Centre, Harvard Medical School in the field of Diabetes Nutrition.

Broadly, her research aims to improve metabolic control and quality of life in those with type 2 diabetes, women with gestational diabetes and obese individuals. Within this framework, she has published various articles and book chapters including the Diabetes Nutrition Plan during Ramadan organized by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). She has actively involved with multiple stakeholders. She shared her experience with Ministry of Health, industrial partnership and professional associations in developing diabetes nutrition-related guidelines such as “Clinical Practice Guidelines for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes” and “Diabetes in Pregnancy”. She received invitations to deliver lectures on diabetes nutrition topics in national diabetes conferences with the most recent at the 12^th International Diabetes Federation-Wester Pacific Region Congress on 27-29^th November in Kuala Lumpur.

Recent honors include a Fundamental Research Grant Scheme Awards from Ministry of Education Malaysia to identify the ‘Nutritype’ signatures for the prevention of diabetes in women with previous GDM. She firmly believed that such knowledge would not be beneficial if they are not transferred to the community. In this conjunction, she presently involved in running the diabetes clinic at UPM health centre with a focus on nutrition and diabetes education. It is her greatest aspiration that her research contributions will lead to a better quality of life in individuals and community with diabetes. She has recently received the Malaspina International Travel Award (MIST) from International Life Sciences Institute, in Tampa Florida, Jan 2019. For more info, visit: http://ilsi.org/malaspina-scholars/