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Personalised nutrition involves leveraging human variability to provide tailored dietary advice to optimise heath. It is also one of the four pillars of the decadal plan for the science of nutrition in Australia. Using the biological and behavioural characteristics of a person to design dietary messaging may be more effective for improving dietary patterns than “one size fits all” approaches. However, our understanding of how to design and implement personalised nutrition approaches is limited.

Aim of the project

This project aims to better understand the barriers and enablers to the use of personalised nutrition approaches in young adults. It will involve interviews and focus groups with the key stakeholders, including young adults, dietitians and GPs. Findings are expected to inform the design of personalised nutrition interventions that are appropriate for use in young adults and health professionals.

Supervisor

Applications are invited for a PhD student to work under the supervision of Dr Katherine Livingstone in the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN). Katherine received a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant to explore the design of personised nutrition approaches in young adults. This PhD project will support this grant. Other experts within IPAN will be invited to be part of the supervision team.

Pre-requisites

Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree with first class honours (or equivalent) in a relevant field including nutrition, dietetics or health sciences. Interested students must meet Deakin University’s PhD entry requirements and be eligible to apply for an Australian Post Graduate Award or equivalent. The supervision team will work with suitably qualified applicants to apply for scholarship funding.