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 |
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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
2017
Towards best practice in acute stroke care in Ghana: a survey of hospital services. , in BMC Health Services Research 2017;17:108.
Van Biervliet S, Declerq D, SOMERSET S. Clinical effects of probiotics in cystic fibrosis patients: a systematic review., in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 18:37-43
Adherence to statins in primary prevention of CHD amongst hypercholesterolemic Kuwaiti patients: A cross-sectional study., in Medical Principles and Practice. 2017;26:35-40.
2016
Dietary intake and nutritional status of micronutrients in adults with cystic fibrosis in relation to current recommendations. , in Clinical Nutrition 2016; 35: 775-782.
Associations between micronutrient intakes and gut microbiota in a group of adults with cystic fibrosis. , in Clinical Nutrition http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2016.06.029
Skipping breakfast in early childhood and its associations with maternal and child BMI: a study of 2-5-year-old Australian children. , in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2016;70:450-5.
Using a Household Food Inventory to Assess the Availability of Traditional Vegetables among Resettled African Refugees. , in Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;18;13(1).
Family planning knowledge, attitudes and practices in refugee and migrant pregnant and post-partum , in Reproductive Health. 2016;13:94
2015
Associations between Parenting Styles and Children's Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. , in Ecology of Food and Nutrition 2015;54:93-113.
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