Are you interested in taking on the challenge of a PhD?

In 2016, the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics is offering Top Up scholarships for students who are successful in obtaining either an APA or equivalent scholarship for their Phd studies. The Top Up’s are worth $8000 per year and are tax free stipends. Please see project details below:

The global relevance of basic anthropometric and food intake measures for nutrition screening in a rapidly industrialized society: from under to over nutrition in Chinese children 

Supervisors: Prof Helen Truby and Dr Catherine Huggins 

Email: helen.truby@monash.edu 

Nearly all large epidemiological studies rely on interpretation of basic anthropometric measures (weight, height and waist circumferences) as determinants of growth during childhood. In China today both under and over nutrition co-exist on a scale that is unprecedented. The rapid industrialisation in China has generated an equally rapid change in the food supply in both quantity and variety. Food intake obviously impacts on growth and this project will examine the relationship between food patterns, physical activity and growth over time in early childhood. These project goals will be realized by secondary data analysis of several large Chinese birth cohorts (50,000 – 100,000 subjects). It will be undertaken in collaboration with leading researchers in China. Applicants should have a particular interest and confidence in working with large datasets. This PhD will enable skill development in nutritional epidemiology. Opportunities to spend some periods of time in China exist within this project. 

Alcohol: The forgotten component of energy intake 

Supervisors: Prof Helen Truby 

Email: helen.truby@monash.edu 

Consumption of alcoholic beverages has a unique place in Australia, but with the rise in obesity, the contribution of alcohol to energy intake is under greater scrutiny. Alcohol contributes more energy per gram than protein and carbohydrate. As such alcohol attains public health importance solely as a discretionary energy source with low micro-nutrient value. Consumption of alcoholic beverages has a short term stimulatory effect on appetite and desire to eat. These physiological processes combined with the food supplied in social situations, which are often high fat snack foods, contribute to passive over consumption of energy per se. This project seeks to develop and test food (snack) solutions to reduce the energy availability and increase energy utilization of snacks by altering macronutrient composition. It will test their effectiveness when consumed with alcohol in controlled trials. The long term outcome will be increasing the evidence base for guidelines around which foods can be served with alcoholic beverages that optimize energy utilization and reduce the stimulatory effect on appetite.