معرفی
Katherine Kent is a Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Wollongong and has held concurrent appointments at Western Sydney University since 2021. As a public health nutritionist with expertise in food security measurement and rural nutrition research, she investigates food insecurity's impact on diverse Australian populations through projects like the Let's Talk About Food study in Illawarra Shoalhaven regions.
- 2023–present: Senior Lecturer, Medical Indigenous and Health Sciences, University of Wollongong
- 2021–present: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University
- 2016–2020: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Rural Health, University of Tasmania
- 2011–2015: PhD Candidate, University of Wollongong
Her research focuses on household food insecurity, community-led food initiatives, and university student nutrition through large-scale surveys and policy advocacy. She coordinates undergraduate/postgraduate subjects in public health nutrition, food security, and nutritional epidemiology while leading PhD supervisions on food system impacts on cognitive health and child nutrition.
Recent publications examine community food environments' health outcomes, anthocyanins' cognitive effects, school lunch quality in vacation care centers, and food co-ops' role in reducing Australian food insecurity. She co-chairs the Wollongong Regional Group of the Nutrition Society of Australia and contributes to the Australian Academy of Science's National Committee for Nutrition.
Key grants include:
- 2025 Australian Nutrition Trust Fund Travelling Fellowship
- 2024 Health Innovations Travel Award
- 2024 World Class Research Project Grant
- 2024 National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education funding
- 2025 Macquarie University's 'Feeding Minds' project
