The Institute for Global Nutrition weekly seminar is a forum to discuss new research and topics related to global nutrition. Seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:10-1:00 pm in the Foster Room (1138 Meyer Hall) both in person and virtually on Zoom. They are open to the UC Davis community and to the public. Students may register for academic credit (NUT 291 section 1). Members of the public and students who do not need academic credit can request access by emailing Maureen Phelan at meaphelan@ucdavis.edu.
Videos of seminars will be posted after the event as they become available. Seminars from previous academic years are available via the menu on the right. This page will contain the current academic year of seminars (Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024).
Spring 2024
4/3/24
Invited Speaker: Kevin Stephenson, MD, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Instructor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Video: Impact of ready to use foods for school children on cognitive outcomes in Ghana
4/10/24
Invited Speaker: Jennifer Falbe, PhD, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Human Development, Human Development & Family Studies, UC Davis
Soda pouring rights contracts in higher education: health and sustainability implications
4/17/24
Invited Speaker: Elaine Ferguson, PhD, Professor of Global Nutrition, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Food pattern modeling to support revision of the global complementary feeding guidelines
4/24/24
Invited Speaker: Audrie Lin, PhD, Assistant Professor Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology Department, UC Santa Cruz
Video: A randomized trial of water, sanitation, handwashing and nutritional interventions on stress and epigenetic programming
5/1/24
Invited Speakers:
Heather Stobaugh, PhD Senior Research and Learning Specialist, Action Against Hunger, New York, New York
Sarah King, PhD, Centers for Disease Control, Division of Global Disease Detection and Emergency Response, Atlanta, Georgia
Is relapse after initial Severe Acute Malnutrition recovery a problem? Preliminary findings from a recent multi-country cohort study
5/8/24
Invited Speaker: Cecilia Fabrizio, DrPH, Program Lead, Standing Together For Nutrition (ST4N), Micronutrient Forum, Washington, DC
The power of evidence-based collective action
5/15/24
Invited Speaker: Jennifer Smilowitz, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension, Food Science and Technology, Foods for Health Institute, UC Davis
Video: Breastfeeding to Achieve Food & Nutrition Security in the First 1000 Days
5/22/24
Invited Speaker: Isaac Agbemafle, PhD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of Rhode Island
Video: Women's discretionary salt intake and household salt utilization patterns in Ethiopia
5/29/24
Invited Speaker: Reina Engle-Stone PhD, Associate Professor of Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, Chair of the DE in Global Nutrition, UC Davis
Building the evidence base for bouillon fortification: Updates from the CoMIT Project
6/5/24
End of Year Potluck
Winter 2024
1/10/24
Invited Speaker: Christine Stewart, Professor of Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis
Video: Social desirability bias in a randomized controlled trial promoting breastfeeding practice in Western Kenya
1/17/24
Invited Speaker: Jennie Davis, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis
Video: Paper Discussion: Perspective: Peer Evaluation of Recommendations for CONSORT Guidelines for Randomized Control Trials in Nutrition
1/24/24
Invited Speaker: Kay Dewey, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis
Effect of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements provided to pregnant women on pregnancy and birth outcomes
1/31/24
Invited Speaker: Lauren Au, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis
Video: Beyond the English Channel: Navigating hypothermia and caloric needs during marathon swimming while pregnant
2/7/24
Canceled.
2/14/24
Invited Speakers:
Sorrel Namaste, DrPH, Deputy Project Director, NuMERAL (Nutrition Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning USAID Project), RTI International, North Carolina
Denish Moorthy, MD, Senior Technical Advisor, USAID Advancing Nutrition, International, John Snow, Inc., Massachusetts
In vein we train--Valid hemoglobin assessment and practical considerations
2/21/24
Invited Speakers:
Clair Null, PhD, Principal Researcher, Mathematica, Washington DC
Ali Akram, PhD, Applied Economist Senior Researcher, Mathematica, Washington DC
“Market Tests” of Balanced Energy Protein (BEP) Supplements for Pregnant and Lactating Women in Pakistan: Leveraging business models to complement government distribution through a social protection program
2/28/24
Invited Speakers:
Christine McDonald, ScD, Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF, School of Medicine and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
Sonja Hess, PhD, Research Nutritionist, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis
Antenatal intervention strategies providing food or cash with micronutrients to pregnant and breastfeeding women in low- and middle-income countries
3/6/24
Invited Speaker: Jason Montez, PhD, Scientist (Nutrition, Obesity, & Diet-related NCDs), World Health Organization, Geneva Switzerland
Video: Updating FAO-WHO nutrient intake values for infants and young children
3/13/24
Invited Speaker: Andrew Doel, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Obesity & Metabolism Unit, Western Human Nutrition Research Center (WHNRC), USDA
Predictors and consequences of early growth trajectories in rural and urban Gambian infants; implications for chronic disease risk
Fall 2023
9/27/23
Invited Speaker: Reina Engle-Stone, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition,
UC Davis
Paper Discussion: Multiple micronutrient supplementation and cost-benefit tool for informing maternal nutrition policy and investment decisions
10/4/23
Invited Speaker: Per Ashorn, MD, PhD, Professor of Paediatrics at Tampere University, Finland
Video: Lancet and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition series on newborn health
10/11/23
Invited Speaker: Aulo Gelli, PhD, Senior Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute)
New technologies for dietary assessment
10/18/23
Invited Speakers:
Jonn Fajardo, PhD Student in Nutritional Biology, UC Davis
Katherine Kwon, PhD Student in Nutritional Biology, UC Davis
Discussion: Lancet and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition series on newborn health
10/25/23
Invited Speaker: Moses Klevor, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Clinical Nutrition and Dietics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Maternal and child nutrition in Ghana
11/1/23
Canceled.
11/8/23
Invited Speakers:
Lindsey Locks, MPH, ScD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Program in Health Science, Boston University
Pranay Sinha, MD, Assistant Professor, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University
Nutrition and Tuberculosis
11/15/23
Invited Speaker: Bess Caswell, PhD, Research Scientist, Immunity and Disease Prevention Research, USDA - Agriculture Research Service
Program impacts on dietary outcomes
11/22/23
Canceled. Happy Thanksgiving!
11/29/23
Canceled.
12/6/23
Invited Speakers:
Steve Vosti, PhD, Associate Adjunct Professor Emeritus, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Davis
Armando Colina, Ph.D. Student, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Davis
Economically optimal strategies for addressing Vitamin A deficiencies: Different 'lenses' lead to different public policy choices