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Doctoral Research Scholar
Department of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College Of Home Science, SNDT Women's University, Mumbai, India, India
Ms Panchali Moitra is a qualified nutritionist, academician and competent researcher with a varied experience in management, research and counseling. She is presently pursuing a doctoral degree in Food Science and Nutrition and works as an Assistant Professor in the Post Graduate Department of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics at Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, India. She is the recipient of the prestigious Avishkar Fellowship Award for Innovation in Research by the Hon Governor, State Government of Maharashtra, India for her doctoral research work on 'Targeted behaviour change communication model for children in Mumbai'- the Healthy Eating and Activity Program in Schoolchildren (HEAPS) study. In the past, she has worked as (1) Project coordinator for an USDA funded randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of a food based approach on glycemic control and inflammatory and cardio metabolic risk factors in adolescents and young adults with prediabetes in Mumbai, (2) Co Investigator for a PNPG grant funded project on development of a food frequency questionnaire to estimate nutrition transition related dietary behaviors in adolescents in Mumbai, (3) Project Lead of Safe and Nutritious Food@ School, a collaborative initiative of FSSAI and Pepsico Holdings and (4) Research Associate for a Rajmata Jijau Mission funded project on feeding practices of 6 to 36 month old infants. She is a certified diabetes educator, certified yoga trainer, accredited tutor for FAO- ENACT Nutrition Education course, ACSM certified master trainer and holds several affiliations and certifications from leading nutrition bodies in India and abroad. She has won several awards for paper and poster presentations in international and national conferences, has published papers in peer reviewed journals and has recently authored an activity book for children, 'Eat Right Move More'. Her research interests center primarily around child and adolescent nutrition, behavior change interventions, food environment metrics and evaluation studies and child obesity prevention and public health policies.