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Conference Schedule
Tuesday 3rd November: 3pm-6pm
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Registration from 3pm
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Welcome Event 4-6pm
Arrive, connect and settle in with fellow delegates at the Welcome Event. This session is the perfect opportunity to network with the nutrition community and begin this immersive conference experience together.
Wednesday 4th November & Thursday 5th November
Enjoy two days of engaging plenary presentations, research updates and practical workshops. The programme will feature fantastic opportunities to share knowledge with nutrition professionals from across the region. Confirmed speakers include leading voices from across the nutrition and health sector, with more exciting speakers and sessions to be announced soon.
Travel planning: Delegates are encouraged to arrive in time for the welcome event on Tuesday afternoon and depart after the conclusion of the conference programme on Thursday.
The full conference programme including session details and timings will be released shortly.
Conference Speakers
Conference Speakers
Prof Welma Stonehouse
Welma Stonehouse is a Professor of Nutrition at Deakin University, Australia, whose career has been shaped not only by a passion for nutrition science, but also by a commitment to connecting people, developing leaders and strengthening the global nutrition community. As an internationally recognised nutrition scientist with over 30 years' experience in academic, research and leadership roles across South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, her research focuses on nutrition interventions for the prevention and management of chronic disease.
Professor Stonehouse believes that advances in nutrition science arise from the collaborations, communities and shared sense of purpose that bring people together. She currently serves as Treasurer of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) and is Past President of the Nutrition Society of Australia. She has played a pivotal role in establishing and growing initiatives including the Federation of Oceanic Nutrition Societies (FONS), the African Nutrition Leadership Program (ANLP), and the Oceanic Nutrition Leadership Platform (ONLP). In recognition of her contributions to nutrition science and the profession, she received the prestigious Muriel Bell Award from the Nutrition Society of New Zealand in 2013.
Elisiva Na’ati
Elisiva Na’ati is from the Kingdom of Tonga, a dietitian with over 20 years of experience in dietetics and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). She currently serves as the NCD Adviser for Public Health Nutrition with the Pacific Community (SPC), based in Suva, Fiji. In her role, she provides support to the 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories to enhance their efforts in preventing and controlling NCDs. Prior to this position, she worked for the Ministry of Health in Tonga, where she contributed to advancing nutrition and diabetes prevention and care.
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart
Sarah Burkhart is an Associate Professor in Nutrition, Deputy Director (Research and Policy) and Nutrition Smart Food Systems theme lead at the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC).
A/Prof Burkhart’s current work spans the South Pacific region where she leads and contributes to a range of projects to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture. A key focus of Sarah’s work is school food and nutrition environments in the South Pacific and the potential these have for transformational food system change, improved nutrition, health and educational outcomes, climate resilience and livelihoods.
A/Prof Burkhart is the President of the Federation of Oceanic Nutrition Societies (FONS) and Chair of the Pacific School Food Network.
More speakers to be announced soon!
Workshops
Concurrent Workshops Day 1:
Nourish Your Network: Science Communication for Impact
An interactive session for students and early career researchers and professionals, this workshop aims to build confidence communicating nutrition science clearly and engagingly to different audiences. The session will explore hands-on practice crafting an "elevator pitch," peer feedback, and a look at how generative AI can support (and where it falls short for) research communication.
Facilitated by: Dr Jennifer Gale and Dr Michael Houghton, with co-presenter Ritnesh Vishal Prasad
The AUT Pacific Islands Families Longitudinal Study
Drawing on the long-running Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study, this session looks at what a multi-decade, Pacific-led approach to nutrition and health research can teach us about culturally responsive practice - covering metabolic health, food environments and community wellbeing outcomes tracked across generations in Aotearoa.
Facilitated by: Dr. Shabnam Jalili-Moghaddam, NZ Registered Nutritionist
Concurrent Workshops Day 2:
Strengthening Nutrition Assessment Education
This workshop is hosted by the FONS Dietary Assessmen and Higher Education Taskforces, and will explore opportunities to strengthen the design and delivery of nutrition assessment education across tertiary nutrition programmes, bringing together perspectives to identify priorities for enhancing education and practice in this area.
Facilitated by: A/Prof Tracy McCaffrey and A/Prof Sarah Burkhart
Complementary Feeding in the Pacific
Details TBA
Facilitated by: Professor Cath Conlon