Description of Research

Dr. Dalia El Khoury’s research interests focused on the role of functional ingredients/foods in the regulation of appetite, food intake, glycemia and metabolism in healthy individuals and individuals at risk of or with nutrition-related disorders including obesity and metabolic syndrome. Dr. El Khoury has also worked in the fields of sports nutrition and infant nutrition through experiences in both academia and private industry. Dr. El Khoury is still interested in exploring additional biomarkers with respect to the metabolic syndrome, and how to manage them through dietary interventions. Also, she is interested in investigating the use of nutritional and sports supplements among athletes and exercising individuals.

Education

PhD (Physiology and Physiopathology) - University of Pierre et Marie Curie, France (2008)

MSc (Nutrition) – American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2005)

BSc (Nutrition and Dietetics) – American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2002)

Dietetic Internship – American University of Beirut Medical Center (2003)

Licensed Dietitian by the Lebanese Ministry of Health for Dietetic Practice (2006)

Courses Taught

NUTR*4010 Nutritional Assessment

NUTR*3090 Clinical Nutrition I

NUTR*2050*DE Nutrition in the Community

NUTR*1010 Introduction to Nutrition

NUTR*4900 Selected Topics in Human Nutrition

Recent Publications 

Douglas Goff, Nikolay Repin, Hrvoje Fabek, Dalia El Khoury, Michael J Gidley. 2017. Dietary Fibre for Glycemia Control: Towards a Mechanistic Understanding. Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre. In Press.

Vien S, Luhovyy BL, Patel BP, Panahi S, El Khoury D, Mollard RC, Hamilton JK, Anderson GH. 2017. Pre- and within meal effects of fluid dairy products on appetite, food intake, glycemia and regulatory hormones in children. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 42: 302-310.

El Khoury D, Goff HD, Anderson GH. 2015. The role of alginates in regulation of food intake and glycemia: a gastroenterological perspective. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 55: 1406-1424. 

Dalia El Khoury, Shirin Panahi, Bohdan L. Luhovyy, H. Douglas Goff, G. Harvey Anderson. 2015. Interaction of mealtime ad libitum beverage and food intake with meal advancement in healthy young men and women. Physiology and Behavior. 143: 39-44.

Dalia El Khoury, H. Douglas Goff, Shari Berengut, Ruslan Kubant, G. Harvey Anderson. 2014. Effect of sodium alginate addition to chocolate milk on glycemia, insulin, appetite and food intake in healthy adult men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 68: 613-618.

Dalia El Khoury, Peter Brown, Gary Smith, Shari Berengut, Shirin Panahi, Ruslan Kubant, G. Harvey Anderson. 2014. Increasing the protein to carbohydrate ratio in yogurts consumed as a snack reduces post-consumption glycemia independent of insulin. Clinical Nutrition. 33: 29-38.

Dalia El Khoury, G. Harvey Anderson. 2013. Recent advances in dietary proteins and lipid metabolism. Current Opinion in Lipidology (Invited review). 24: 207-213.

El Khoury D, Antoine-Jonville S. 2012. Intake of nutritional supplements among people exercising in gyms in Beirut city. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2012:703490.

Current projects

1. Identification of novel biomarkers for metabolic syndrome and related disorders in children and adults.

2. Dietary intakes and prevalence of use of nutritional supplements among university athletes and exercisers.

​Guide For Prospective Students 

What are the qualities of a student who would be successful in your lab?

• A love for both qualitative and quantitative research is a strength for my students. A successful student on my research team has strong interest in clinical nutrition, whether from disease prevention and treatment perspectives or from a sports nutrition approach.

How would you describe your mentoring style? 

• I work very closely with my students, and enjoy meeting with them on weekly basis to get updates on their research projects, answer any questions they may have, work together to address any existing challenges, and revise our work plans if needed. I trust though that my students can perform their daily work very well, at their own pace, without the need to micro-manage them.

Is there anything else you’d like your potential students to know? (include things like opportunities for funding/conferences/publication etc.)

• I will always encourage my students to attend and/or present their work at annual nutrition-related conferences, such as Canadian Nutrition Society, Experimental Biology and others. Conferences give them the opportunity to communicate their findings to the research communities, as well as to build a strong professional and research network in the nutrition field.