Assistant professor
Sam Houston State University
I am an assistant professor of Nutrition at Sam Houston State University and my research focuses on the role of nutrition in aging.
I obtained my doctoral degree in nutrition from University of Montreal, and then did two postdoctoral fellowships in nutritional epidemiology from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Bordeaux, France and David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). I was an assistant professor at the Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon from 2018-2021, and recently was recruited to work at Sam Houston State University (SHSU, starting Fall 2021.
As an experienced nutrition epidemiologist with a focus on geriatric nutrition, my main research interests concentrate on enhancing the quality of life and survival of older adults via nutritional and healthy lifestyle interventions. I study the physical, mental, and cognitive aspects of aging and I have published several articles on these topics. I have also published a book chapter about the role of nutrition in cognitive aging. All my work will help improve the health of the older population and impact policy making.
As a nutrition epidemiologist with a focus on public health, I believe that nutrition is only one part of a healthy lifestyle, and that is why I am currently focusing on researching the beneficial effects of healthy lifestyle interventions on the quality of life of older people. I also focus on the diet as a whole and work with the Mediterranean diet. Other research interests include determining the role of protein intake and nutrients on frailty particularly among diabetic older adults. I am also currently working on the role of nutrients on cognitive function among adolescents and children.