Applied Human Nutrition | MSc

I am a Registered Dietitian and have been the Director of the University of Guelph Body Composition Lab since 2007. As a co-investigator of the Guelph Family Health Study, my research interests relate to predictors and outcomes of childhood and adult obesity. I am especially interested in the associations between lifestyle behaviours (particularly diet), body composition, and cardiometabolic risk in families with young children.

My research has two main areas of focus. One is nutrition during pregnancy. Current projects focus on the health effects of dietary sugar intake during pregnancy, gestational weight gain, and long-term impact of nutrition during pregnancy. I also conduct practice-based research in dietetics, including identification of cancer patients with malnutrition, body composition in kidney disease patients, and enteral feeding strategies in the ICU.

I conduct impact-oriented research addressing socioeconomic and environmental influences on food choices and weight-related behaviours using both quantitative and qualitative methods. My current research interests include: 1) the impact of parenthood on fathers' diets and health, 2) fathers' roles in their children's diets and in childhood obesity prevention, and 3) patient-client relationships between fathers and RDs.

My research interests include: 1) exploring new biomarkers for metabolic syndrome, and their modulation by functional foods and/or physical activity, 2) investigating the prevalence and psychosocial determinants of dietary supplement use among athlete and non-athlete students, gym exercisers and other populations at risk; and 3) assessing intake, knowledge and attitude of global food trends such as plant-based and gluten-free diets.

My research identifies effective strategies to support nutritious and sustainable eating. I use the results of epidemiologic research on the determinants of sustainable eating to develop behaviour change interventions and knowledge mobilization tools. I am the Co-Director of the Guelph Family Health Study and the Principal Investigator of a study on interventions for reducing household food waste and promoting plant-based foods.

My research focuses on the development of children's healthy eating habits and growth from infants through to school age, especially children at high risk of eating difficulties, such as children born preterm and those with neurodevelopmental disorders. Current projects examine how early life nutrition and parent-child feeding interactions are associated with eating habits, dietary intake, and growth during childhood.

After completing her bachelor's degree in AHN in 2024, Manahil decided to continue her education through a prestigious Arrell Food Institute scholarship and is now enrolled in the master of science program. Manahil is leading a project to co-design tools to support adolescents to eat more plant-based foods.

Katherine completed her PhD in 2025 and is now a postdoctoral scholar in our department. During her PhD, Katherine held an Arrell Food Institute scholarship, led two projects related to perceptions of sustainable eating, and developed and tested a novel online program to promote sustainable eating among families with children.

Aiyu's MSc research focused on maternal dietary sugar intake in relation to maternal weight and body composition changes during and after pregnancy. Now Aiyu is working towards her PhD and developing and evaluating a resource booklet to help health practitioners communicate gestational weight gain with pregnant patients.

Tamara is a SSHRC-funded PhD candidate in AHN. Throughout her studies, Tamara has been involved in food uniting neighbours (f.u.n.), a partnership project to pilot and evaluate co-designed interventions to improve food access and reduce food insecurity in Guelph's Onward Willow neighbourhood.

Alyssa is a graduate of our MSc program and a current PhD candidate in AHN. She holds a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship and is leading a project to co-design an app that supports adolescents with celiac disease. Alyssa also works as a research registered dietitian at the Hospital for Sick Children and as a consultant at Celiac Canada.