Nutrition and Dietetics Research Group

This involves personalized nutritional support to help people with chronic conditions, traumatic injuries, acute illnesses, and surgeries, as well as chronic diseases. The team focuses on:

• Nutrition for respiratory diseases like COPD and COVID-19.
• Nutritional management for neurological conditions such as spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s Disease.
• Nutrition in intensive care settings.
• Dietary support for advanced gastrointestinal surgeries and gastrointestinal failures.
• Nutrition care to support patients in self-management of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, dementia, and kidney disease. 

The focus here is on preventing chronic diseases by developing and implementing programs and policies aimed at promoting nutrition and health. This includes:

• Creating health promotion interventions using digital health and social media.
• Tackling food insecurity and improving food environments.
• Addressing food systems and sustainability.
• Conducting health services research.

The team pays special attention to adolescents, young adults, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and Pacific Islanders, aiming to reduce health disparities.

The team is a leader in using technology to improve the accuracy of measuring food and beverage consumption. This includes:

• Developing food composition databases and smartphone apps.
• Implementing 24-hour recalls and diet quality indices.
• Creating tools for measuring portion sizes and wearable technologies for detecting eating and activity patterns.

The team also focuses on research in nutrition education and curriculum design, aiming to improve quality education and reduce inequality.

Overall, the team's work aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including good health and wellbeing, responsible consumption, and production, zero hunger, sustainable cities, climate action, quality education, reducing inequality, and fostering partnerships.