A note for prospective graduate students and post-doctoral fellows:
Thank you for your interest, however currently there are no positions available in my lab. Best of success in your academic and research endeavours.
Research Areas
- Global Health and Sustainable Development Goals
- Nutritional epidemiology with emphasis on nutrition-related non-communicable diseases
- Public health nutrition and community-based health promotion
- Nutrition, culture, and health status of at-risk population, particularly immigrant, refugee, and Indigenous populations.
- Analysis of complex health survey data
Current Research
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- Dietary intakes of Canadians and risk of obesity and chronic conditions.
- Immigrant and refugee health and nutrition.
- Association of nutrients of public health concern, specifically vitamin D and calcium, with autoimmune diseases and chronic conditions.
- Evaluation of the impact of socio-economic and cultural factors on food insecurity in immigrants and refugees both nationally and internationally before, during, and after notable global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
- Evaluation of the nutrition and health status among Indigenous communities in Canada, Central America, and Africa before, during, and after COVID 19 pandemic.
- Community-based participatory action research and development of health promotion interventions for diabetes prevention and control in Indigenous communities.
- The ‘Nutrition and Growth Study’ to evaluate the effect of dietary patterns on optimal growth development among Canadian children.
- The effect of milk and yogurt supplementation on bone health and body composition in Canadian young adults via a randomized control trial
- Evaluating the impact of menu planning resources and the cultural adaptation of “Healthy Start/Départ Santé” to improve nutrition, physical activity, and physical literacy in early learning facilities.
- Development of online applications (such as MenuPlanPro and Plate Waste Apps) to monitor diet and nutrition metrics.
- “Eat Healthy, Play Healthy” initiative to promote healthy food environments in recreational facilities.
- Queen Elizabeth Scholar project to strengthen capacity to tackle non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean.
Current Courses
- NUTR 350.3- Public Health and Community Nutrition
- NUTR 811.3- Advances in Public Health Nutrition
- PUBH 854.3-Health Promotion, Program Planning, and Evaluation
Recent Grants and Awards
As Principal Investigator:
Vatanparast, H. (PI). (2019). Pan-Canadian gathering to support healthy eating in recreation settings across Canada. University Conference Fund, University of Saskatchewan. $1,000 (CAD).
Vatanparast, H. (PI). (2019). Acute human feeding trials to define the minimum effective dose for reduction of post prandial blood glucose by two common market varieties of Canadian lentil. University of Guelph. $23,000 (CAD).
Vatanparast, H. (PI). (2018). Portable multisite quantitative ultrasound bone scanner and pediatric software. University of Saskatchewan. $14,500 (CAD).
Vatanparast, H. (PI). (2018). Milk and Alternatives food group consumption patterns, and nutrient contribution among Canadians. Dairy Farmers of Canada. $40,000 (CAD).
As Co-Investigator:
Sharma, S. (PI), Vatanparast, H., Kolahdooz, F. (April 2019-April 2020). Assessing vitamin D intake and status among populations with different skin pigmentation in Yellowknife. CIHR: Bridging Fund. $100,000 (CAD).
Racine, L. (PI), Maposa, S., Andsoy, I., & Vatanparast, H. (2018-2019). Breast cancer barriers and facilitators among Islamic/Muslim refugee women in Canada: A mixed method study. Sigma Theta Tau International/The Canadian Nurses' Foundation. $3,955 (USD).
Engler-Stringer, R. (PI), Martin, W., Muhajarine, N., Vatanparast, H., Black, J., Gilliland, J., Kirk, S., & Wittman, H. (2018-2019). Improving school food: universal integrated healthy lunch intervention research. College of Medicine / Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic / Office of the President, University of Saskatchewan. $100,000 (CAD).
Henry, C. (PI), Shand, P., Vatanparast, H., Engler-Stringer, R., Jalal, C., Vassileva, J., & Froehlich-Chow, A. (2018-2021). An educational initiative to promote pulse consumption among early years children. Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. $100,000 (CAD).
Recent Publications
Publications from the last year (2023)
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Shafiee, M., Longworth, Z., Gizaw, Z. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. How does climate change affect biomass production and rural poverty?. Biofuel Research Journal, 10(4), pp.1948-1965. |
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Vatanparast, H. and Longworth, Z.L., 2023. How does Canada’s new vitamin D fortification policy affect the high prevalence of inadequate intake of the vitamin?. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 48(11), pp.870-875. |
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Perreault, M., Wallace, A., Martin, A., Sadowski, A., Laila, A., Lemieux, S., Hutchinson, J.M., Kirkpatrick, S.I., Simpson, J.R., Guenther, P.M. and Lamarche, B., 2023. Construct validity and reliability of the Canadian Eating Practices Screener to assess eating practices based on 2019 Canada's Food Guide recommendations. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. |
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Wallace, A., Martin, A., Bédard, A., Pitre, C., Lemieux, S., Simpson, J.R., Kirkpatrick, S.I., Hutchinson, J.M., Williams, T.E., Westaway, A.M. and Lamarche, B., 2023. Development of the Canadian Eating Practices Screener to assess eating practices based on 2019 Canada's Food Guide recommendations. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. |
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Vatanparast, H., Longworth, Z.L. and Keshavarz, P., 2023. Do seafood consumers have a higher diet quality compared to non-consumers? A Canadian perspective. Planetary Sustainability, 1(1), pp.45-61. |
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Thomas, D.J., Shafiee, M., Nosworthy, M.G., Lane, G., Ramdath, D.D. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. Unveiling the Evidence for the Use of Pulses in Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Scoping Review. Nutrients, 15(19), p.4222. |
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Sharifan, P., Darroudi, S., Rafiee, M., Roustai Geraylow, K., Hemmati, R., Rashidmayvan, M., Safarian, M., Eslami, S., Vatanparast, H., Zare-Feizabadi, R. and Mohammadi-Bjgiran, M., 2023. The effects of low-fat dairy products fortified with 1500 IU vitamin D3 on serum liver function biomarkers in adults with abdominal obesity: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 42(1), p.102. |
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Keshavarz, P., Lane, G., Pahwa, P., Lieffers, J., Shafiee, M., Finkas, K., Desmarais, M. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. Dietary Patterns of Off-Reserve Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Their Association with Chronic Conditions. Nutrients, 15(6), p.1485. |
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Saif-Nijat, J., Pakravan-Charvadeh, M.R., Gholamrezai, S., Rahimian, M., Lane, G., Béland, D., Koc, M., Clark, N., Omidvar, N., Sadeghi, R. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. The association of the quality of life with Afghan households’ food insecurity before and after the recent political change in Afghanistan: a comparative analysis. BMC Public Health, 23(1), p.2066. |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16967-z
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Sadat, S.A.A., Pakravan-Charvadeh, M.R., Gholamrezai, S., Rahimian, M., Lane, G., Béland, D., Koc, M., Clark, N., Omidvar, N., Sadeghi, R. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. Factors associated with Afghan household food security pre-and post-taliban regime. Journal of Public Health Policy, pp.1-15. |
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-023-00439-0
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Chevrier, J., Lane, G., Khakpour, M., Vatanparast, H. and Batal, M., 2023. Food Security Among Syrian Refugee Families in Quebec, Canada. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, pp.1-26. |
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Khakpour, M., Koc, M., Engler-Stringer, R., Farag, M., Henry, C. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. Food Security and Socioeconomic Disparities of Afghan Refugees in Transitory Countries and Canada. Journal of International Migration and Integration, pp.1-25. |
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Lane, G. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. Immigrant families’ experience of the Canadian food and nutrition environment. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. |
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Shafiee, M., Lane, G., Szafron, M., Hillier, K., Pahwa, P. and Vatanparast, H., 2023. Exploring the Implications of COVID-19 on Food Security and Coping Strategies among Urban Indigenous Peoples in Saskatchewan, Canada. Nutrients, 15(19), p.4278. |