Professor Danielle Gallegos
Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences
Biography
I have made a significant contribution to public health nutrition research in particular in the areas of food security, food literacy and early infant feeding. My research focuses on real world “wicked” problems that require interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary solutions. The research actively engages community members in strengths-based approaches. I have a passion for building our understanding of the everyday challenges facing families as they put food on the table. I have led major implementation projects in the area of food, nutrition and early childhood education and care with significant outcomes leading to practice change. I have a strong commitment to research mentorship building capacity for research in staff, HDR students (15 completed 13 ongoing). I am currently the Director of the Woolworths Centre for Childhood Nutrition Research funded by the Queensland Children's Hospital Foundation. I have secured over $6.5 million in funding for early childhood and food literacy research.I have worked with refugee families, First Nations communities, youth in transition and families living with poverty. Under the auspices of the Woolworths Centre for Childhood Nutrition Research I am focussing on the following projects:
- Building a co-design gateway for children's nutrition research
- Developing a portfolio of solutions to assist feeding families in tough times and keeping children from being hungry (Feeding Families in Tough Times)
- Working with primary schools to develop a process for co-designing food and nutrition environments (#schoolfoodies)
Her recent book, edited with Mark Wahlqvist, Food and Nutrition: Sustainable Food and Health Systems (Taylor & Francis) was published in 2020 and provides an innovative approach to teaching nutrition in the tertiary sector.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences
Keywords
child nutrition, food security, food literacy, public health nutrition, qualitative methodologies
Research field
Nutrition and dietetics
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Murdoch University)
Professional memberships and associations
Danielle is currently an Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian (AdvAPD) and a Fellow of the Dietitians Australia (FDA). Danielle is also a member of the Public Health Association of Australia and the World Public Health Nutrition Association.
Teaching
I am currently focussing on research training supervising PhD, Masters and Dietetic Honours students
I have previously taught:
- Community and Public Health Nutrition
- Food Citizenship
Experience
I actively work with a range of organisations including the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, FoodBank and other social welfare organisations. I am active in Dietitians Australia, engaged in the accreditation of dietetic programs and am on the Board of the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations . I am the immediate past chair of the Council of Deans Nutrition and Dietetics (Australia and New Zealand) which I co-developed in 2015.
Publications
- Kerz, A., Bell, K., White, M., Thompson, A., Suter, M., McKechnie, R. & Gallegos, D. (2021). Development and preliminary validation of a brief household food insecurity screening tool for paediatric health services in Australia. Health and Social Care in the Community, 29(5), 1538–1549. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206991
- Gallegos, D., Eivers, A., Sondergeld, P. & Pattinson, C. (2021). Food Insecurity and Child Development: A State-of-the-Art Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212939
- Dryland, R., Carroll, J. & Gallegos, D. (2021). Moving beyond Coping to Resilient Pragmatism in Food Insecure Households. Journal of Poverty, 25(3), 269–286. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202023
- Gebremariam, K., Zelenko, O., Hadush, Z., Mulugeta, A. & Gallegos, D. (2020). Could mobile phone text messages be used for infant feeding education in Ethiopia? A formative qualitative study. Health Informatics Journal, 26(4), 2614–2624. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/199862
- Mai, T., Pham, N., Tran, T., Baker, P., Gallegos, D., Do, T., van der Pols, J. & Jordan, S. (2020). The double burden of malnutrition in Vietnamese school-aged children and adolescents: A rapid shift over a decade in Ho Chi Minh City. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 74(10), 1448–1456. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/200373
- Harris, H., Staton, S., Morawska, A., Gallegos, D., Oakes, C. & Thorpe, K. (2019). A comparison of maternal feeding responses to child fussy eating in low-income food secure and food insecure households. Appetite, 137, 259–266. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/127502
- Gallegos, D. & Chilton, M. (2019). Re-evaluating expertise: Principles for food and nutrition security research, advocacy and solutions in high-income countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(4). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/127411
- Pitt, E., Gallegos, D., Comans, T., Cameron, C. & Thornton, L. (2017). Exploring the influence of local food environments on food behaviours: a systematic review of qualitative literature. Public Health Nutrition, 20(13), 2393–2405. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/106614
- Cullerton, K., Donnet, T., Lee, A. & Gallegos, D. (2016). Playing the policy game: a review of the barriers to and enablers of nutrition policy change. Public Health Nutrition, 19(14), 2643–2653. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94582
- Vidgen, H. & Gallegos, D. (2014). Defining food literacy and its components. Appetite, 76, 50–59. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/67789
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Danielle, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- Invited speaker on food insecurity and the ramifications for weight and health status in high income countries
- Type
- Appointment to Prestigious Positions
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- I was appointed as one of six board members to the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations. This is an elected position and the term is four years.
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Invited speaker on the link between food insecurity and eating disorders
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Awarded Fellow of the Dietitians Association of Australia in recognition of high level national and international contribution to the profession. One of 16 Fellows in 2018.
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- Presented with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Award for services in nutrition and dietetics in Ho Chi Minh City
Supervision
Current supervisions
- An exploration of the practice of eating among Australian families
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Vidgen - Feeding Families in Tough Times: Child perspectives of food insecurity
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Sabine Baker - Exploring Socioeconomic Disadvantage, Food Insecurity, Diet, and the Gut Microbiome in Pregnant Women
PhD, Principal Supervisor - Kids to the Front: Exploring children's food practice perspectives for a child-centred approach
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Foluke Abigail Badejo, Associate Professor Helen Vidgen
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Constructing contemporary parenthood in digital spaces: Infant feeding and baby tracking applications and the mediation of Australian parenthood (2024)
- Dads At Mealtimes: Paternal Feeding Roles, Practices And Experiences In The Context Of Disadvantage (2024)
- Exploring food and settlement for people with lived refugee experiences (2024)
- Talking about food insecurity: The social construction of urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander food insecurity in Southern Meanjin/Brisbane Health Services (2024)
- The development and validation of nutrition assessment tools to explore contributing factors to childhood overweight and obesity in urban Vietnam (2023)
- A Qualitative Exploration of the Impacts of Climate Change on Food and Nutrition Security and Diet-Related Non-Communicable Diseases in Vanuatu (2021)
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.