Program in International and Community Nutrition
Graduates
Ph.D recipients
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Seth Adu-Afarwuah
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Nutritional Biology
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Efficacy and acceptability of three types of multiple micronutrient supplements for home fortification of complementary foods for infants in Ghana" (supported by the Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, The Nestle Foundation and USAID).
Dr. Adu-Afarwuah received his B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science with Biochemistry at the University of Ghana, Legon and his MPhil in International Health and Nutrition from the University of Bergen, Norway. He is currently a Nutrition Officer with UNICEF-Ghana.
His research interests include the development and evaluation of low cost interventions to improve nutrition and health of infants and children in low income populations.
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Shaikh Meshbahuddin Ahmad
Graduation Date: 2007
Major Professor: Charles B. Stephensen
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Immune function in men with marginal and adequate vitamin A stores" (supported by Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture).
Dr. Ahmad received his B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh He is currently an Assistant Scientist in the Immunology laboratory at ICDDR,B (Dhaka, Bangladesh), working on the relationship between whole body vitamin A store and immune responses.
His research interests include the relationships between micronutrient status and vaccine specific immune response.
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Emmanuel Aklamati
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Absorption and retention, and impact of high-dose vitamin A supplements on total body vitamin A stores of 3-4 year old Zambian boys."
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Miriam Anaya-Loyola
Graduation Date: 2007
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Vitamin B12 deficiency: prevalence and causes in Mexico" (Supported by CONACYT, UC MEXUS, USDA, Wyeth.)
Dr. Anaya-Loyola is a faculty member in the Department of Human Nutrition, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Mexico.
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Patrice Armstrong
Graduation Date: 2009
Major Professor: Charles B. Stephensen
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Variation in the ALOX5 Gene and Response to Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements in persons of African Descent." (Supported by the Nutritional Genomics Grant/National Institutes of Health – National Center of Complimentary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation.)
Dr. Armstrong received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, and her Masters in Public Health in Environmental Health Science from Columbia University, New York, NY. She is currently a Fulbright/Postdoctoral Scholar, investigating the association of nutritional and environmental factors in Venezuelan children exposed to elevated lead levels.
Dr. Armstrong’s research interest is improving the nutritional, environmental and health status of underserved ethnic communities in developing countries and the U.S.
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Joanne E. Arsenault
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Dietary zinc intake of young children in Peru and the US, and effects of supplemental zinc on energy intake, appetite, body composition, and plasma leptin, ghrelin, and insulin concentrations of Peruvian infants." (Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.)
Dr. Arsenault received her B.S. in biology from Stonehill College, North Easton, Massachusetts. She received her M.P.H. degree in nutrition from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan and is a registered dietitian. She also received an M.S. degree in epidemiology from Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Arsenault is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutritional Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA and is conducting data analysis and writing manuscripts for a project examining the impact of a school snack on nutrition and health status of Columbian children. Her research interests include dietary intake analysis, micronutrient deficiencies and risk of infectious disease.
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Jinan Banna
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Marilyn Townsend
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Food behaviors and physical activity in Spanish-speaking women in California." (Supported by the Public Health Institute, Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Fellowship, and Jastro Shields Research Scholarship.)
Dr. Banna graduated with a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Health/Exercise Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is currently a Dietetic Intern at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, where she is receiving practical training in the clinical, community and foodservice areas; documenting patient progress and diet recommendations in the electronic system; assisting dietetic professionals with Spanish/English translation.
Dr. Banna’s research interest is nutrition education in low-income minorities domestically and internationally, particularly in Spanish-speaking populations. She is also interested in exploring the dietary habits of diverse groups internationally and determining association of dietary practices with obesity, specifically in the Mediterranean region.
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Adelia C. Benjamin
Graduation Date: 1998
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Evaluation of iron amino acid chelates as iron fortificants in maize." (Supported by Albion Laboratories.)
Dr. Benjamin is currently a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Tuskegee University. She is currently working on diet, nutrition and cancer prevention issues in African Americans and food product development with emphasis on sensory issues. Her research interests are international nutrition, food product development, and nutrition and cancer prevention issues among African Americans.
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Virginia A. Bennett
Graduation Date: 2000
Major Professor: Virginia A. Bennett
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Evaluation of selected methods to assess and enhance complementary feeding of young children in low-income countries." (Supported by UNICEF, USAID/UDLP, USAID/PSTC.)
Dr. Bennett received her B.S. from Central Washington University in Food Science, and her M.S. from the same institution in Nutrition. She is also a registered dietitian. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Nutrition at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. She is also the Director of the Program in Dietetics.
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Erick Boy
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Evaluation of Novel Assessment Tools and Interventions to Improve Micronutrient Nutrition" (Supported by UC Davis and INCAP.)
Dr. Boy received his B.A. in English Literature from Baylor University, his M.D. from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, and his M.S in nutrition from UC Davis. He currently holds the title of Chief Scientific Adviser at the Micronutrient Initiative in Ontario, Canada, and is responsible for providing technical guidance for institutional strategies and programs; maintaining technical staff updated in key scientific topics related to micronutrient deficiency control and prevention. He is in charge of home fortification of complementary foods and zinc supplementation interventions development, particularly in Latin American countries with high burden of disease and is a liaison with expert technical groups in vitamins and minerals nutrition.
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Alison Lemon Campbell
Graduation Date: 2003
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Causes and consequences of vitamin B-12 deficiency in a Californian Latino elderly population." (Supported by USDA.)
Dr. Campbell received her B.S. in dietetics and M.S. in nutrition from Utah State University and is a registered dietitian. Her master's work included the implementation and evaluation of a nutrition and fitness education program for Ute Indian youth living on the Uintah-Ouray reservation in Eastern Utah. Her current interests include sustainable food based interventions to improve micronutrient status of children in developing countries.
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Jennifer E. Casterline-Sabel
Graduation Date: 1998
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Vitamin B-12 deficiency and malabsorption in Guatemala and Mexico." (Supported by USAID/UDLP and the Thrasher Research Fund.)
Dr. Casterline received her B.A. from Boston University in Biology, and her M.S. from the University of Connecticut in Nutritional Sciences. Having completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Epidemic Intelligence Service, she is currently an epidemiologist in the Injury Prevention Program at the Washington State Department of Health in Olympia, WA.
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Virginia Chaidez
Graduation Date: 2009
Major Professor: Lucia L. Kaiser
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Toddler-feeding practices in Latinos: An early start in obesity prevention" (Supported by the National Research Initiative of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, the University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UCMEXUS); the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety; the Food Stamp and Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP); and the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation.)
Dr. Chaidez received her B.S. in Foods and Nutrition from San Diego State University, San Diego, California.
Her research interest is obesity and diabetes in Latinos with particular interest in child-feeding practices and understanding its role in childhood obesity.
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Camila Chaparro
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Effects of the timing of umbilical cord clamping and other factors on infant iron and lead status at six months of age" (supported by The Thrasher Research Fund and the U.S. Fulbright Program).
Dr. Chaparro received her A.B. degree in Biology from the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL She is currently a consultant to the Family and Community Health/Child and Adolescent Health unit at the Pan American Health Organization in Washington D.C. Her duties include developing guidelines and technical documentation for the implementation of delayed cord clamping with other neonatal and maternal care practices in the Latin American and Caribbean region. She is also researching trends over time in breastfeeding duration and changes in estimates of underweight/stunting/wasting using the new WHO 2006 growth standard as compared to the previous NCHS reference. Dr. Chaparro is also a postdoctoral scholar at UC Davis, where she is developing and writing a technical document on the use of lipid-based nutrients in emergency settings.
Her research interests are maternal and infant health and nutrition and iron deficiency.
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Roberta J. Cohen
Graduation Date: 1994
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Optimal age of introduction of complementary foods to exclusively breast fed Honduran infants." (Supported by the Thrasher Research Fund, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and Georgetown University.)
Honors: Society for International Nutrition Young Investigator Award, 1994.
Dr. Cohen received her B.A. in Bilingual Education from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and an M.Ed. in Special Education from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. Subsequently, she received an M.S. in Nutrition (minor in Farming Systems) from the University of Florida, Gainesville.
After receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Cohen worked as a research associate with the UC Davis Program in International and Community Nutrition. She managed two randomized intervention trials in Honduras, one on age of introduction of complementary foods to term, low birth weight breastfed infants, and the second on the effects of iron supplementation of breastfed infants. She then worked on several additional projects while based in Davis, including managing the collection of anthropometric data to be used in developing growth charts based on breastfed infants (coordinated by the World Health Organization), analysis of dietary data from four different studies of infant nutrition in developing countries, and management of pre-natal data collection for a study of early lactation success among first-time mothers in Sacramento. Dr. Cohen retired from UC Davis in 2007.
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Kathleen Deegan
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Vitamin B-12 in Human Milk: Methodology for Measurement and Determination of Deficiency and the Effect of Supplementation on B-12 Deficient Lactating Women" (Supported by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture)
Dr. Deegan received her B.S. in Zoology from Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas. She received her M.S. degree in Food Science & Human Nutrition from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida and is a Registered Dietitian.
Dr. Deegan is currently an adjunct professor at California State University, Sacramento and is teaching Nutrition & Metabolism, Advanced Metabolism, Cultural Aspects of Food & Nutrition, and Current Topics In Nutrition. Her research interest is micronutrient deficiencies in lactating women and the effect on their infants.
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Jessica De Haene
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Janet King
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Determinants of impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance among Mexican pregnant women." (Sponsored by Fogarty International Center, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc., and UC MEXUS.)
Dr. DeHaene received her B.S. in Nutrition from the Universidad Ibero American, Mexico City, Mexico and her M.S. in Public Health from the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Cuernavaca, Mexico. Dr. DeHaene is working as a clinical coordinator at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California. She is coordinating a research project involving obese women by giving nutrition counseling and monitoring weight gain during pregnancy at San Francisco General Hospital and the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.
Dr. DeHaene’s research interests are impaired glucose tolerance, pregnancy, fetal programming, and childhood obesity -
Swati Deshpande
Graduation Date: 2004
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Strategies to optimize maternal and infant nutrition."
Dr. Deshpande received her B.S. from San Diego State University in Nutrition. Having completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Epidemic Intelligence Service, she is currently working as an epidemiologist at the San Mateo County Health Department.
Her research interests are HIV/AIDS, maternal and child nutrition.
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Daphna Dror
Graduation Date: 2009
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "“Prevalence, predictors, and consequences of vitamin D deficiency in mother-infant pairs in Oakland, CA." (Supported by the Western Human Nutrition Research Center (USDA/ARS), the East Bay Neonatology Foundation and the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation.)
Dr. Dror received her B.S. in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. She received her M.S. in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis, and also has a Registered Dietician degree from the University of California, San Francisco.
Her research interest is micronutrient deficiencies in developed and developing countries.
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Olga P. Garcia
Graduation Date: 1999
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Isotope and community trials of the efficacy of a local food source of ascorbic acid for improving iron absorption and status in rural Mexico." (Supported by CONACYT, Mexico; USAID/OMNI.)
Dr. Garcia received her B.S. in Food Chemistry from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City and her M.S. in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis. She is a Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, School of Natural Sciences, at the Universidad Autonoma de Querataro, Querataro, Mexico where she coordinates the Master´s Program in Human Nutrition. Her research interests include Bioavailability of micronutrients and consequences of micronutrient deficiencies.
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Joanne Graham
Graduation Date: 2004
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Benefits of riboflavin plus iron supplementation for pregnant Nepali women." (Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Floyd & Mary Schwall Dissertation Fellowship.)
Dr. Graham received her B.S. from the University of California, Davis in Dietetics. She is also a Registered Dietitian (internship at Olive View UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, CA 1998). She is currently a Lecturer at Sacramento State University teaching undergraduate nutrition courses, specifically, Metabolism and Lifespan Nutrition. Her interests include pregnancy outcomes, maternal and infant nutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries.
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Craig Hadley
Graduation Date: 2003
Major Professor: Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
Graduate Group: Anthropology
Dissertation title: "The Biosocial Correlates of Children's Growth in Two Tanzanian Ethnic Groups." (Supported by NSF, the Gifford Center for Population Issues, and UC Davis.)
Dr. Hadley received his B.S. in Anthropology from the University of Utah and his M.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Davis. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Emory University. He also holds the appointment as the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar in the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health at the University of Michigan. Dr. Hadley is currently involved in studies concerning public health nutrition among Ethiopian adolescents, refugees living the in USA, and studies of the biosocial impact of living in seasonal subsistence environments.
His current research interests include nutritional anthropology, mixed methods, social production of health, food insecurity, child feeding, refugees, and East Africa.
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Laura M. Hall
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Charles B. Stephensen
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Sun Exposure, Skin Reflectance and Vitamin D Intake to Predict Vitamin D Status." (Supported by the NCMHD Center of Excellence in Nutritional Genomics, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc., the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation, and the Western Human Nutrition Research Center.)
Dr. Hall graduated with a B.S. in Applied Nutrition from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Food Science and Nutrition Dept. at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she is teaching clinical nutrition courses, general nutrition courses and advising senior projects and masters students along with developing research.
Dr. Hall’s research interests include: Understanding the contributions to individual vitamin D status, Testing the specificity and sensitivity of previous model and recall questionnaires for identifying individuals at risk of vitamin D insufficiency, Vitamin D supplementation and disease outcomes (obesity, insulin resistance, osteoporosis, etc.) and physical performance/muscle function, Identifying vitamin D polymorphisms and disease outcomes, Examining cultural beliefs about sun exposure/supplement use, Promoting vitamin D education and health in the community.
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Marjorie J. Haskell
Graduation Date: 1996
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Evaluation of the deuterated retinol dilution technique to assess vitamin A status of Bangladeshi adults." (Supported by USAID.)
Dr. Haskell received her B.S. in Nutrition at the University of Massachusetts and her M.P.H. at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). She is currently an Associate Research Nutritionist at the University of California, Davis, working on bioavailability of vitamin A and carotenoids, assessment of vitamin A status, and food-based interventions for improving maternal and infant vitamin A status.
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Mohammad Bakhtiar Hossain
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Bo Lönnerdal
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Effects of Maternal Iron and Zinc Deficiency and Supplementation on Neonatal Iron and Zinc Status, Iron Uptake, and Intestinal Iron and Zinc Transporter Expression in a Rat Model" (supported by the Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Dr. Hossain received both a B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry from Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is an Assistant Scientist at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Hossain’s studies will involve the effect of zinc supplementation on intestinal zinc transporter expression. His research interests include improving micronutrient status of vulnerable population in developing countries using biofortification.
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Md Iqbal Hossain
Graduation Date: 2009
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
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Md. Munirul Islam
Graduation Date: 2007
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Effects of energy density and feeding frequency of complementary foods on food and breast milk consumption, total energy intake, and time expended during individual meals by healthy, breastfed Bangladeshi children" (supported by the Government of Bangladesh through IHP-HNPRP and by the Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development).
Dr. Islam received his MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery) from Dhaka Medical College, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is currently an Assistant Scientist in the Clinical Sciences Division of the Centre for Health and Population Research (ICDDR,B) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Islam is researching the development of practical, complementary feeding recommendations for healthy breastfed children. His research interests include infant and young child feeding (complementary feeding and breast feeding); management and prevention of childhood malnutrition in low-income countries; micronutrients and infectious disease.
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Katharine M. Jones
Graduation Date: 2005
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Vitamin B-12 deficiency in Guatemalan mothers and infants: Prevalence, predictors and associations with maternal depression and infant development." (Supported by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association)
Dr. Jones received her B.S. Degree from the University of California, Davis, in Community Nutrition. Her current research interest is micronutrient deficiency.
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Joel E. Kimmons
Graduation Date: 2000
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Assessment of appropriate and feasible strategies to improve infant complementary feeding practices in Ghana and Bangladesh." (Supported by Nestlé Foundation; World Bank, ICDDR, B).
Dr. Kimmons received his B.S. in Food Science and Technology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. Kimmons is a Nutrition Epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where he is the lead scientist for the National Fruit and Vegetable Program (CDC’s center for disease control and prevention’s division of nutrition and physical activity). His research interests include macronutrient and micronutrient intake, micronutrient status, fruit and vegetable intake and chronic disease, obesity, national dietary surveillance, diabetes, functional foods and dietary supplements.
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Anna Lartey
Graduation Date: 1998
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "A randomized community-based trial of the effects of improved, centrally processed complementary foods on growth and micronutrient status of Ghanaian infants at 6-12 mo." (Supported by the Nestlé Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.)
Dr. Lartey attended UCD as a Fulbright student from Ghana, West Africa. Prior to studying at UC Davis, she received her B.S. from the University of Ottawa (Canada) in Biochemistry - Nutrition, and after serving a dietetic internship at Kingston General Hospital in Kingston, Canada, she received her M.S. from the University of Guelph (Canada) in Nutritional Sciences.
Dr Lartey is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Ghana in Accra. She is also a Council Member for the International Union of Nutritional Sciences. She is the current Chairperson of the Africa Nutritional Epidemiology Conference, President of the Ghana Nutrition Association, and Africa’s representative on the Council of International Union of Nutritional Sciences, and was recently named IDRC Research Chair in Nutrition for Health and Socio-Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Her current research areas are breastfeeding, complementary feeding, factors affecting the growth of Ghanaian children. Nutrition and HIV/AIDS. She was a Principal Investigator on the WHO Multicenter Growth Reference Study in Ghana.
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Daniel López de Romaña
Graduation Date: 2004
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Development of iron- and zinc- (doubly-) fortified wheat products to improve the diets, nutrition, and health of Peruvian children." (Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the United States.)
Dr. López de Romaña received his bachelor's degree in Biology and master's degree in Nutrition from University of California, Davis. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Instituto de Nutricíon y Tecnologia de los Alimentos, Universidad de Chile (Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile).
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Susana L. Matias
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Epidemiology
Dissertation title: "The Early Breastfeeding Experience and its Association with Optimal Breastfeeding among Peruvian Mothers." (Supported by the Fogarty International Center and the Gifford Center for Population Issues.)
Dr. Susana Matias received her B.S. in Psychology from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima, Peru. She is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis. As part of her postdoctoral training she is currently analyzing data from a cohort of Latino farm worker families from Northern California to assess the relationship between acculturation and nutrition practices and outcomes. She is also a postdoctoral researcher at the newly established Migration and Health Research Center (MAHRC), which is a joint effort of the UC Davis and UC Berkeley.
Her research interests are mainly focused on maternal and infant health.
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Erin Reid McLean
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Effectiveness of weekly multiple micronutrients vs. two levels of iron supplements to improve anemia, micronutrient status and cognitive performance in Senegalese school children" (Supported by The Micronutrient Initiative)
Dr. McLean received her B.Sc. Degree from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) and her M.S. Degree from the University of California, Davis. She worked as a Technical Officer in Micronutrients at the World Health Organization, and then as a Senior Program Specialist at the Micronutrient Initiative in Ottawa, Canada. Currently she is employed by the Canadian International Development Authority in Ottawa, Canada. Her areas of work include working with global vitamin and mineral deficiency (VMD) data to identify knowledge gaps.
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Concepción Mendoza
Graduation Date: 1997
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Effects of phytate and calcium levels on iron and zinc absorption from genetically modified maize and a novel food supplement." (Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the International Atomic Energy Agency.)
Dr. Mendoza received her bachelor's degree from Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, and her master's degree from the Institute of Nutrition for Central America and Panama (INCAP). She is currently a Research Associate at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center (USDA) working in the area of micronutrient bioavailability. Currently she is the coordinator of a research project that evaluates the effect of iron supplementation on zinc metabolism during pregnancy and lactation.
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Deanna Olney
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen, Ernesto E. Pollitt
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Modeling the effects of anemia, malaria, growth and micronutrient supplementation on development of young Zanzibari children." (Supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID.)
Dr. Olney received her bachelor's degree in Political Science from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. She is currently working as a consultant for the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C.
Her research interests include the relationships between and among poverty, stress, micronutrient deficiencies, malaria, anemia, growth and obesity, child development and school achievement.
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Peggy Callaghan Papathakis
Graduation Date: 2005
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Changes in body composition and micronutrient status during lactation in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected South African women." (Supported by Fulbright Scholarship, Wellcome Trust)
Dr. Papathakis received her B.S. in dietetics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and her M.S. in nutrition from UC Davis. She is a registered dietitian. She performed her dietetic internship at Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, LA.
She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her research interests include HIV and body composition; HIV and micronutrients; nutritional status of HIV-infected women and their infants; breast milk nutrient content of HIV-infected women; means to improve nutritional status in HIV infected women of reproductive age.
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Ana Perez Exposito
Graduation Date: 2009
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
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Lisa Marie Rogers
Graduation Date: 2000
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Vitamin B12 status of Guatemalan school children: indicators and predictors of deficiency." (Supported by the Thrasher Research Foundation.)
Dr. Rogers received her B.S. from the University of Arizona in Nutrition and Dietetics, and her M.S. from the University of Florida in Human Nutrition. She is also a Registered Dietitian (internship at St. Luke's Hospital/Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL ´94). Her master's thesis work involved studying the bioavailability of folic acid in 13C5-folic acid fortified cereal products. This work was completed under Dr. Jesse Gregory, III.
Dr. Rogers is currently working at the World Health Organization as a Technical Officer in the Micronutrient Unit of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development. She is updating the vitamin A portion of the Micronutrient Deficiency Information System (MIS) and will then use this information to update WHO's global estimates of vitamin A deficiency.
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Sara Schaefer
Graduation Date: 2005
Major Professor: Marta Van Loan
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Association of Acculturation and Socioeconomic Status with Health Behavior and Health Status in Adolescent Females." (supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, IFAFS Grant # 00-52102-9696)
Dr. Schaefer received her B.S. in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. She is currently employed as a Program Associate at SUSTAIN, a Washington D.C. based non-profit, working on food fortification initiatives overseas.
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Daniel Sellen
Graduation Date: 1995
Major Professor: Monique Borgerhoff-Mulder
Graduate Group: Ecology
Dissertation title: "The socio-ecology of young child growth among the Datoga pastoralists of Northern Tanzania." (Supported by Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the Leverhulme Trust, the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, and the LSB Leakey Foundation.)
Dr. Sellen received a B.A. and an M.A. in Zoology and Biological Anthropology from the University of Oxford in 1987, an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan in 1989, and completed post-doctoral research in anthropological demography at University College London in 1997. He is currently Canada Research Chair in Human Ecology and Public Health Nutrition, and an Associate Professor of Anthropology, Nutritional Sciences and Public Health at The University of Toronto.
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Setareh (Setti) Shahab-Ferdows
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Lindsay Allen
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Randomized Placebo-Controlled Vitamin B12 Supplementation Trial in Deficient Rural Mexican Women: Baseline Assessment, Transcobalamin Genotype and Response of Biochemical and Functional Markers to Supplementation." (supported by ARS, USDA, WHNRC).
Dr. Shahab-Ferdows received her B.S. in Clinical Nutrition from University of California, Davis. She is currently a post- doctoral researcher at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center, where she works on projects in West Bank, Honduras and Guatemala. Her research interests include micronutrient deficiencies and sustainable local interventions to eradicate them in less developed countries.
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Amna Rehana Siddiqui
Graduation Date: 2006
Major Professor: Dr. Ellen B. Gold
Graduate Group: Epidemiology
Dissertation title: "Prenatal Exposure to Wood Fuel and Adverse Infant Birth Outcomes" (supported by the National Institutes of Health).
Dr. Siddiqui received her M.B.B.S. in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Karachi Pakistan and her M.S.P.H. in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. She is teaching and directing courses in epidemiology and nutritional epidemiology for M.B.B.S., M.S. epidemiology and biostatistics, regional short courses, hospital epidemiology, and field-based research work related to indoor air pollution. Her research interests are environmental and nutritional epidemiology.
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Jonathan Siekmann
Graduation Date: 2001
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Micronutrient deficiencies in Kenyan school children: Impact of food-based interventions, and associations with malaria and antibody titers." (Supported by USAID Global Livestock CRSP.)
Dr. Siekmann is employed as a Senior Associate, Infant and Young Child Nutrition at GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Siekmann's interests are in infant and young child nutrition, micronutrients, food-based strategies for micronutrient deficiencies, and nutrition education.
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Beth Carlton Tohill
Graduation Date: 2000
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Predictors of postpartum body composition changes and physical activity level in women from three different ethnic groups: Asian, Hispanic and non-Hispanic White." (Supported by NIH.)
Dr. Tohill received her B.A. from Texas A&M in Speech Communication and Health, and her M.S.P.H. from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. As part of her master's degree, she spent over 2 years with the Peace Corps in Guatemala, working in health and nutrition education. She is currently working in the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia as a Lead of the Obesity Guideline Development and Recommendations Team. Her main areas of research include the causes of the obesity epidemic and using that evidence-based research to reverse the current epidemic, and issues related to nutrition and breastfeeding among HIV infected women and their children.
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William E. Watkins
Graduation Date: 1995
Major Professor: Ernesto Pollitt
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Effect of intestinal helminths on the nutritional status and cognitive performance of Guatemalan schoolchildren." (Supported by the USAID University Development and Linkage Program)
Dr. Watkins graduated from Yale University in 1978 with a B.A. in Chinese studies, taught agriculture in Ghana for the Peace Corps 1978-80, and then English in China for the Yale-China Association 1981-84. He received a M.S. in microbiology from North Dakota State University in 1989. He is currently teaching at St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, Maryland.
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Sara E. Wuehler
Graduation Date: 2007
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Graduate Group: Nutrition
Dissertation title: "Estimation of the global risk of zinc deficiency and assessment of the impact of three doses of zinc supplementation, with or without copper, on markers of zinc and copper status, morbidity and growth among young Ecuadorian children." (Supported by USDA, UNICEF, USAID, and FARMA.)
Dr. Wuehler received her B.S. in Food Science and her M.S. in Food Science and Nutrition from Brigham Young University. She is currently working as a project director at Helen Keller International, Dakar, Senegal. Her current project includes analysis of the state of infant and young child nutrition policies, programs and research in the Sahel region of Sub-Sahara Africa. Her interests include nutrition research and program implementation in developing countries on issues critical to maternal and child health and training of professionals from developing countries to conduct research and implement nutrition programs specific to their country needs.
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Zhenyu Yang
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Assessment and prediction of iron status and effects of iron supplementation with vs without a meal on iron, zinc and copper status and markers of oxidative stress." (Supported by Jastro-Shields and USDA/ARS.)
Dr. Yang received an M.B. in Medicine from Baotou Medical College, an M.S. in Nutrition and Food Hygiene from the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, and an M.S. in Epidemiology from the University of California, Davis. He is currently Nutrition Specialist at UNICEF-China, assisting with assessment and analysis of the nutrition situation of women and children; and planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of nutritional intervention programs in the Sichuan earthquake affected areas. His research interests include micronutrient nutrition and complementary feeding.
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Tara Young
Graduation Date: 2008
Major Professor: Francene Steinberg
Graduate Group: Nutritional Biology
Dissertation title: "Gestational diabetes, type 2 diabetes risk and ethnicity: a qualitative and quantitative analysis." (Supported by The Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation and The California Dietetic Association.)
Dr. Young received her B.S. in Nutrition and Foods and her M.S. in Human Nutrition from Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. Dr. Young is an instructor at Washington State University. Her research interests are nutrition and chronic disease prevention.
M.S. Recipients
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Stuart Bresnick
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
Before receiving his M.S. in Nutrition from UC Davis, Mr. Bresnick received a Bachelor of Engineering from Cornell University, a Master of Science in Materials Science from Northwestern University, and a Master of Business Administration from Iona College.
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Gina Ermis
Major Professor: Kathryn G. Dewey
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Olga Garcia
Major Professor: Lindsay H. Allen
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Keiko Goto
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Thesis title: "Epidemiology of Impaired Intestinal Function of Guatemalan infants and Its Risks Factors, as Assessed by Permeability to Test Sugars." (Supported by the USAID University Development and Linkage Program.)
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Fouad Hassaan
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
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Barbara MkNelly
Major Professor: Louis E. Grivetti
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Natalia León
Major Professor: Ernesto Pollitt
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William Wheeler
Major Professor: Kenneth H. Brown
Thesis title: "Solubility and bioavailability of metallic iron placed in drinking water". (Supported by UNICEF.)
In memoriam
Alhassan Abdullah Manu
(1960-1995)
A native of Ghana, Mr. Manu came to Davis in 1992 to enroll in the Program. He had previously received his B.Sc. from the University of Ghana in Nutrition and Food Science, and his M.S. from the University of Oslo, Norway, in Nutrition. His goal was to be a university instructor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Ghana, and to continue research on issues related to malnutrition and household food security in Ghana.
After completing his coursework and passing his orals, he returned to Ghana in 1994 to carry out his dissertation research on improved complementary foods in relation to the growth and morbidity of Ghanaian infants.
Unfortunately, he fell ill while in Ghana, and passed away in November, 1995. His untimely death was a great loss not only to his family and friends, who loved him, but also to the international nutrition research community, which lost a man of great intelligence and compassion.
Alhassan: May peace be upon you -- may God's blessings be upon you.