Hosted by the Nutrition Society of Australia, Brisbane Group


NSA Brisbane Virtual Research Showcase Conference

From the comfort of your own space ...

"Research is creating new knowledge" - Neil Armstrong


Nutrition research is forever evolving, but Covid-19 has changed the way we share our work and collaborate.

The Nutrition Society of Australia (NSA) Brisbane Group invite you and your colleagues, to join us for our first ever VIRTUAL RESEARCH SHOWCASE. This free event provides Queensland undergraduate and postgraduate students with an opportunity to share their research.

We invite all NSA members, as well as non-members, to attend one, or both showcase events from the comfort of your own office, lounge room or classroom.

There will be two showcase events (Tuesday 25th August & Wednesday 26th August), with each day having a specific theme.
Please see below for more information and how to register.


THE AGENDA

RESEARCH SHOWCASE 1
Tuesday 25th August
11am - 12:30pm

Community & Public Health Nutrition

Nutrition Communication & Education

Global Development

REGISTER HERE

RESEARCH SHOWCASE 2
Wednesday 26th August
12pm - 1:30pm


Food Science

Clinical Nutrition

Food Service & Management

REGISTER HERE


MEET THE SPEAKERS

RESEARCH SHOWCASE 1
Tuesday 25th August

Charyse Kira & Jessica Hardt

Multicultural Health Worker for the Good Start Program (Children’s Health Queensland)
&
Research Dietitian with Children’s Health Queensland
The Māori & Pacific Islander population continue to suffer the poorest health of the nation. With a lack of culturally-appropriate health services, the Good Start program aims to improve the knowledge and practice of Māori & Pacific Islander children and families relating to nutrition and physical activity, via culturally-tailored education and resources.


Sukirtha Srivarathan

PhD candidate in the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods
Australian indigenous edible halophytes- potential sources of functional ingredients?Edible Halophytes have a long history of use as a famine food, animal feed/ fodder and folk medicine among Indigenous communities in Australia, minimal scientific information on their nutritional profile and bioactivities is available. This study evaluates and discusses the nutrient and phytochemical composition of four important Australian indigenous edible halophytes (Tecticornia sp., Sesuvium sp., Suaeda sp. and Atriplex sp.) with the aim of assessing their safety, nutritional and bioactive properties as well as potential value as functional ingredients.

Lydia O'Meara

BSc Hons, BMedSc
& Natural Resources Institute
PhD student
@LydiaOMeara

This doctoral project will analyse factors underlying the nutritional impact of food environments in Peru and Uganda. Sustainable food systems and, in turn food environments, for healthy diets are crucial for both human and planetary health. This is especially important for women and children in developing countries that are at high risk of malnutrition due to food insecurity. This doctoral project will assess how local diets are currently influenced by a variety of factors including food environments, agricultural practices, livelihood capitals, cultural norms and gender roles.

Jaqueline Moura Nadolny

MSc in Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois
PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering, at ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods.

Bunya nuts are native to Queensland and have been around since the Jurassic period. They are versatile in the way they are eaten and very nutritious. Current research is showing the various chemical and nutritional properties of the bunya nuts, as well as potential processing routes that can be used to enhance their value and at the same time benefit local indigenous communities.


Gethmini Kodagoda

PhD candidate at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), UQ, Australia



‘Plumcot’ is a novel stone fruit, a hybrid between plum and apricot. ‘Rubycot’ is an Australian grown plumcot, which has received very little scientific research. After purchasing plums from the market, consumers tend to store them for few days in their households before consumption. The aim of my research is to investigate the effect of different storage temperatures on concentration and composition of anthocyanins, non-anthocyanin phenolics and carotenoids in ‘Rubycot’ and ‘Queen Garnet plum’ (high anthocyanin blood plum) and the impact on in vitro bioaccessibility and in vivo bioavailability of these phytochemicals.

. . .

RESEARCH SHOWCASE 2
Wednesday 26th August

Dr Natasha Hungerford

Research Fellow, Natural Toxins group (QAAFI), UQ, Australia
@TashHungerford


Stingless bee honey has long been valued by Indigenous communities, for its health benefits. It is also valued for its flavour depth and is in high demand from chefs. Testing the honey from certain stingless bee species, we found high levels of an unusual disaccharide, identified as Trehalulose. This is a very interesting and new finding for food science.

Apurba Anirban

Assistant Professor of the Department of Botany, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. PhD Researcher (QAAFI), UQ, Australia

There is Peruvian purple maize, which is not sweet at all. By using a number of crossing combinations over five field experiments in the field, anthocyanin-rich purple sweetcorn is developed for the first time in the world. The purple pigment in this sweetcorn is anthocyanin, which prevents cancer and eye blindness, as well as reduces high blood pressure.

Thien Mai

MPH, UQ, Australia
PhD Candidate, QUT, Australia
Public Health Officer in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Nutrition Centre
Childhood obesity is one of the main public health challenges of the 21st century, and is an increasing problem in many developing countries. This project aims to understand childhood obesity in primary school children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by identifying the characteristics of children's diet and contributing factors. In this presentation, Thien will describe the research methods used and how she and her team validate two newly developed tools.


Karen Mackay

Nutritionist and Dietitian, Santiago, Chile
MCEP, Univeristy of Florida, USA
PhD Student, QUT, Australia@kmackayp
The use of nutritional interventions and its effects over neuromuscular parameters of motor function. Persistent Inward Currents (PIC) and motor neurones, in the presence of serotonin allow us to perform normal day to day physical activities, however certain factors may influence the amount of serotonin produced within the brain. This PhD project aims to contribute to the understanding of serotonin, its role on PICs and how the use of two nutritional strategies can modify this response.

Bridget Horsey

Early career academic, & Associate Registered Nutritionist

This presentation will provide a brief overview of the development of a healthy food access basket assessment that will be undertaken in Fiji to identify accessibility and affordability of a healthy basket of food for four different subpopulations. This assessment will provide a better understanding of the food environment in Fiji including which population groups or geographic areas are most affected.

Jenna Perry

Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD)


The Pacific islands, including Fiji are experiencing an epidemic of diet related, non-communicable disease (NCD), such as Type II Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease. These are largely attributable to the transition of a localised and traditional food system to a global and westernised food system, resulting in a food environment that promotes poor diet quality and a disconnect of how food is sourced and grown. The project aims to explore food literacy in adult, resident Fijians, which will be achieved by conducting an online Self Perceived Food Literacy survey on the two main islands of Fiji.

Sally Griffin

Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD), BExSc, MNutr&Diet, MMedResearch,
PhD candidate, QUT @sallybgriffin
Elective surgery in obese adults carries higher risk of post-operative infection and prolonged hospital stays, and surgeons may postpone surgery for patients with obesity until they lose weight. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a dietitian-led model of care to achieve weight loss for obese patients prior to surgery. The study demonstrated that patients achieved sufficient weight loss to facilitate elective surgery. The approach was feasible, highly valued by patients and surgeons, and resulted in perceived surgical benefits.

Gabi Netzel

ARC Industrial Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods& (QAAFI), UQ, Australia


Gabi is currently working on the nutritional characterisation of Native Australian edible plants using state of the art analytical technologies, such as SIDA, UPLC-ESI-MSMS.

. . .

Let us know if you will be attending!

Please register above for the days you wish to attend


For any further questions or issues with registering please contact:

Nutrition Society of Australia - Brisbane Local Group

Email: nutsocbrisbane@gmail.com



Best wishes,

The NSA Brisbane Local Group

Dr Sarah Burkhart (USC), Associate Professor Jolieke van der Pols (QUT), Dr Anthony Villani (USC), Dr Michael Netzel (UQ) and USC BNut student Louise Braaten-Pow