Supervisor Profile: Associate Professor Shawn Somerset

Associate Professor Shawn Somerset - Nat School of Allied Health (Faculty of Health Sciences)

Fully accredited supervisor - Can supervise as principal supervisor

Shawn Somerset leads the national program in public health at Australian Catholic University. He has tertiary qualifications in Nutrition and in Infectious Disease Immunology. He has worked in government, industry and university sectors on food and nutrition-related projects in Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. His general field of interest relates to how the world is fed, the various controls, barriers and facilitators involved, and how the expanding world population will find food into the future. Answers to these issues span a range of research contexts, from clinical investigations into the impact of various diets on health and disease, through to population-based studies on determinants of food consumption a?? issues that are central across the world, in countries both rich and poor.

Contact

:	+61 7 3623 7183 (Brisbane)
:	Shawn.Somerset@acu.edu.au
:

Research Interests

Public Health ; Nutrition ; Cardiovascular Disease ; Metabolic Syndrome ; Food Security ; Epidemiology ; International Health ; Community Gardening ;

Methods Expertise

Community-based intervention ; Randomised controlled clinical trials ; Adherence ;

Research Projects

Seeking Applications

Delayed care seeking behaviour for malnourished infants in developing country settings. (PhD) (Principal Supervisor)

Current Projects

Towards best practice in acute stroke care in Ghana: a survey of hospital services. (PhD) (Principal Supervisor)
Food acquisition and food security in African humanitarian migrants (PhD) (Co-Supervisor)
Determinants of treatment adherence in heart patients in Kuwait (PhD) (Principal Supervisor)
Psychosocial determinants of dietary behaviour in Australian children using the LSAC database (PhD) (Principal Supervisor)
The effect of diet on microbial ecology of the colon in Cystic Fibrosis (PhD) (Principal Supervisor)
The effects of acculturation and perceived discrimination on risk factors for type II diabetes in sub-Saharan African refugees (PhD) (Principal Supervisor)

Selected Publications

Nutritional Features of Alkaline Fermented Foods. , in In Sarkar PK and Nout R, Handbook of Indigenous Foods Involving Alkaline FermentationA CRC Press 2015 (pp321-333)

Relationship between food insecurity, social support and vegetable intake among resettled African refugees in Queensland, Australia. , in Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 2015;10(2) 10.1080/19320248.2014.929544

If I Had More Money, I Would Buy Rice: Cultural and Sustainability Dimensions Add Resilience To Food Security for Populations in Economic Transition. pp 129-139. In Pulla V & Mamidi BB (Eds). , in Some Aspects of Community Empowerment and Resilience. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2015

2014

The clinical significance of the gut microbiota in cystic fibrosis and the potential for dietary therapies. , in Clinical Nutrition 2014;33(4):571-580.

Digestive System Dysfunction in Cystic Fibrosis: Challenges for Nutrition Therapy. , in Digestive and Liver Disease 2014;46:865-874.

Refugees connecting with a new country through community food gardening., in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2014;11:9202-9216.

A Food Frequency Questionnaire Validated for Estimating Dietary Flavonoid Intake in an Australian Population. , in Nutrition and Cancer. 2014..2014.951728

Sustenance and Sustainability: Maximizing the impact of School Gardens on Health Outcomes. , in Public Health Nutrition 2014;18:2358-2367

Food system sustainability and vulnerability: Food acquisition during the military occupation of Kuwait. , in Public Health Nutrition 2014;18:3060-3066

2013

Isoenergetic replacement of dietary saturated with monounsaturated fat via macadamia nuts enhances endothelial function in overweight subjects., in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN 2013;8:e113-9

A systematic review of baseline psychosocial characterisation in randomized controlled diet trials for weight loss. , in Eur J Clin Nutr 2013. Jul;67(7):697-702

2011

Weaknesses in using quasi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire data to link habitual intake of flavonoids to hypertension incidence. , in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2011;93:153-4

Depression scores predict adherence in a dietary weight loss intervention trial., in Clinical Nutrition 2011;30:593-8

2010

Reporting of dietary control frameworks in studies on simvastatin efficacy. , in Clinical Nutrition 2010;29:352-7

Food Acquisition habits in a group of African refugees recently settled in Australia. Health & Place 2010;16:934-941 , in Health & Place 2010;16:934-941

Nutrition Education: Towards a whole of school approach. , in Health Ed 2010;110:197-208

A campus-based community garden to enhance economic, social and health promotion opportunities for African immigrants. , in Proc of International Non-Profit and Social Marketing Conference. Brisbane 2010. pp 192-195.

2009

Variations in prevalence and conduct of school food gardens in tropical and subtropical regions of North-Eastern Australia. , in Public Health Nutrition 2009;12(9):1485-93.

Impact of a school-based food garden on food knowledge and attitudes: a 12-month intervention trial. , in Public Health Nutrition 2009; 12(2):214-221

2008

Habitudes Alimentaires [Food Habits] , in pp 101-109 In Godeau E et al (Eds) La sante des eleves de 11 a 15 ans en France / 2006. Donnees francaises de l'enquete internationale Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). Editions INPES, Paris

Dietary flavonoid sources in Australian adults. , in Nutrition and Cancer 2008;60(4):442-449

2006

Age-related variations in flavonoid intake and sources in the Australian population, in Public Health Nutrition 2006;9:1045-1054