Lay summary
I am an Advanced Allied Health Practitioner, PhD qualified, specialising in neonatal and paediatric nutrition. My passion and career goals are developing research and leadership in paediatric dietetics at Counties Manukau Health with the aim of improving the development and long-term health of babies and children. With this award, I will grow and develop my research programme in moderate-late preterm (MLPT) babies, an understudied area. I plan to expand on my work on the DIAMOND trial, the largest known trial of nutritional interventions in MLPT babies. I will investigate the effect of commonly-used nutritional interventions on feed tolerance, body composition and development and also the ethnic disparities in feeding decisions that I have found in my research. These data and the outcomes of my research will drive the formulation of evidence-based clinical guidelines on the nutritional management of preterm babies, with the potential for improved outcomes and decreased inequities.