Left: BND3 student, Matthew Gluyas, with his poster at DAA 2018.
Right: Nutrition and Dietetics PhD students at DAA 2018 (L-R) Jenni Suen, Chelsea Mauch, Morgan Pankhurst, Joyce Haddad.
In May a small but active group from Flinders University Nutrition and Dietetics made the trip to the Dietitians Association of Australia 35th National Conference held in Sydney. While Sydney turned on the weather in a week of blue skies and sunshine, our conference participants worked tirelessly to promote Flinders University Nutrition and Dietetics to the national audience.
Staff members Dr Alison Yaxley and Hannah Rohrlach, PhD students Jenni Suen, Chelsea Mauch, Morgan Pankhurst and Joyce Haddad, recent graduates Bess Shanahan and Chloe Bauer, and third year BND student Matthew Gluyas were in attendance as the wide and varied programme unfolded. This small group of attendees presented between them a total of six oral presentations and four posters on diverse subjects ranging across clinical and population health, including technology, children and adults, and dietetic student education, and co-facilitated a workshop.
The theme of this conference was to Think BIG and the plenary speakers certainly tackled a range of BIG issues including Nutrition and Dietetics in the Post-Truth Era, Precision Medicine and the Role of Dietitians, and Food and Nutrition Insecurity and Hidden Hunger in Australia. All in all a thought-provoking experience with something for everyone.
When it came to highlights for our group of attendees, networking and meeting other PhD students and potential collaborators was high on the list, with the Emerging Dietitians events, led by our own Hannah, coming a close second. But it is hard to beat Joyce’s highlight; she won free registration to the next ICD meeting in Cape Town, South Africa in 2020. Congratulations Joyce!! And congratulations to all our other presenters, great work!