Dear all,
I have a PhD scholarship available for someone to work on sustainable diets/sustainable food systems for Pacific Island countries. It's open to NZ and international students and provides NZD 25,000 per year for three years. Food composition work will necessarily feature in the research.
PhD
Scholarship in the College of Health -- Massey University Doctoral Scholarships
Massey University, Wellington Campus, School of
Public Health and/or Food and Nutrition invites applications for a PhD
scholarship to study sustainable diets and food systems in Pacific Island
countries.
The ecosystems and agro-ecological zones of
Pacific Island countries are rich in terrestrial and marine biodiversity that
would support sustainable diets for the populations. Yet the nearly-11 million
people in these countries have the highest rates in the world of obesity and
diabetes, and other diet-related chronic diseases. Their diets are often
dominated by high fat/high sugar imported convenience foods, and agricultural
exploitation is leading to extensive loss of agro-biodiversity and degradation
of land. Many of these Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are
precarious in terms of their vulnerabilities to various manifestations of
climate change, and other anthropogenic and natural phenomena.
Various research groups have worked on the
development of methods, metrics and indicators to characterise sustainable
diets and food systems. These remain largely theoretical, and to date have not
been widely applied in order to further develop, validate or use them as
tools. The aim of this project is to investigate three methodological
frameworks (see references) which address sustainable diets and food systems,
and to develop, validate, customise and apply as a tool to the unique
ecosystems of Pacific Island countries. The processes employed will include
transdisciplinary project design and execution, and multi-sectoral involvement
for policy ramifications and development.
The outcomes will have application to national
and regional policies and interventions and to intergovernmental commitments
including the Sustainable Development Goals, Aichi Targets, the International
Treaty on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries, and more. It will addresses the issues elaborated in
December 2015 by the UN General Assembly (A/70/472/Add.2 - paragraph 11) in the
Small Island Developing States Partnership (SIDS) Framework, in accordance with
paragraph 101 of the SAMOA Pathway, to monitor and ensure the full
implementation of pledges and commitments through partnerships for SIDS. This
project will also contribute to the action-oriented, results-focused Global
Multi-stakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue, and will directly and indirectly
address each of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (2015) and the
commitment of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing
States (2014). Ultimately, the goal is to realise tangible, long-lasting
benefits for nutrition and food security, public health, and for environmental
sustainability, e.g., conservation of food biodiversity through sustainable
use.
Research will be supervised by Professor Barbara
Burlingame. The scholarship provides a tax-free stipend of NZ$25,000 per annum
for three years. Both international and domestic students are eligible.
Applicants should have or expect to receive a
BSc(Hons) or MSc degree or equivalent in nutrition, health science, public
health, epidemiology, or related field; coursework or project work in
diet/health-related sustainable development, food composition/consumption
studies, environmental toxicology/exposure assessments is highly
desirable. Scholarship
regulations should be reviewed prior to applying.
Applications close September 5. Starting date to
be determined. Applications including a CV, academic transcript, and letter of
motivation should be sent by email to Professor Burlingame,b.burlingame@
Cheers,
Barbara
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