Professor Lisa Houghton, Our people, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, New Zealand

MSc(Guelph) PhD (Tor)

Lisa Houghton is a Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition with research interest in community and international nutrition.

Professor Lisa Houghton joined the Department of Human Nutrition in 2008. Lisa completed her undergraduate and MSc training at the University of Guelph, Canada, her clinical dietetic training at McMaster Health Sciences, and her PhD in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Prior to arriving in New Zealand, Lisa was an Assistant Professor at Acadia University, and was a Research Associate at The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, and the Premature Infant Nutrition group at Abbott Laboratories, USA. She is a member of American Society of Nutrition and the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation.

Lisa Houghton's research is focused on the assessment and health consequences of micronutrient deficiencies in “at risk” population groups, with particular expertise in maternal and young child undernutrition. Current topics of investigation include nutritional assessment of infants, young children and mothers in Indonesia, Kenya and India; investigation of the influence of infant and young child feeding practices on diet quality, gut microbiota, growth and morbidity; assessment of the impact of a complementary feeding home-fortification strategy using a desiccated beef powder on the growth and development of young children; and, development of a field friendly exclusive breastfeeding biomarker tool.

Memberships

Otago Global Health Institute, Leadership Group

Teaching and paper coordination

Lisa teaches in the area of maternal, infant and young child nutrition along with coordination of the following papers:

HUNT 243 Lifecycle Nutrition
HUND 5A Master of Dietetics Thesis Part A

Current postgraduate students

PhD

Aly Diana. Adequacy of micronutrient intakes and status of breastfed Indonesian infants fed traditional complementary foods.
Rosemary Stamm. Folate and one-carbon metabolism in human milk fed infants and their mothers.
Ben Wheeler. Intermittent maternal vitamin D supplementation to prevent vitamin D deficiency in the breastfed infant and lactating mother.
Carla Thomson. Teaching and learning reflective practice in dietetic education
Maria Polak. Vitamin D and emotional well-being in the general population.

Master of Science

Deborah McIntosh. Adequacy of complementary diets and nutritional status of disadvantaged Indian children

Master of Dietetics

Briar McKenzie. Retrospective study on the growth trajectories and nutritional support of preterm infants at Dunedin Hospital

Recent graduates

PhD

Sue MacDonell. Optimising the nutritional status, health and well-being of older New Zealand adults in residential care.
Rebecca Lander. Nutritional status of disadvantaged preschool children attending daycares in Salvador, Northeast Brazil: a cross-sectional study. 2012.

Master of Science

Aimee Richardson. The effect of selenium and iron status on well-being of young adults. 2014
Sarah Beaumont. Compliance of rural mothers in Emali, Kenya to WHO guiding principles for complementary feeding practices and behaviours. 2013
Simonette Mallard. Prevalence of awareness and use of supplemental folic acid before and during pregnancy, Does long-term folic acid supplementation have an impact on 1-carbon metabolism? 2012.
Rose Stamm. An evaluation of the accuracy of the folate microbiologic assay and comparison with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. 2011
Nicola Hursthouse. Validation of a food frequency questionnaire to assess folate intake of NZ reproductive-aged children. 20111
Victoria Logan. Predictors of vitamin D status in New Zealand adults and the effect of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 supplementation on 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone concentrations. 2011

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Publications

Peddie, M., Scott, T., Ranasinghe, C., Fleming, E., Webster, K., Brown, R., Houghton, L., & Haszard, J. (2022). A sample of female adolescent self-identified vegetarians in New Zealand consume less protein and saturated fat, but more fiber than their omnivorous peers. Nutrients, 14, 711. doi: 10.3390/nu14030711

Diana, A., Haszard, J. J., Irda Sari, S. Y., Rahmannia, S., Fathonah, A., Sofiah, W. N., … Harper, M., … Houghton, L., & Gibson, R. (2021). Determination of modifiable risk factors for length-for-age z-scores among resource-poor Indonesian infants. PLoS ONE, 16(2), e0247247. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247247

Bērziņš, K., Harrison, S. D. L., Leong, C., Fraser-Miller, S. J., Harper, M. J., Diana, A., Gibson, R. S., Houghton, L. A., & Gordon, K. C. (2021). Qualitative and quantitative vibrational spectroscopic analysis of macronutrients in breast milk. Spectrochimica Acta Part A, 246, 118982. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2020.118982

Leong, C., Gibson, R. S., Diana, A., Haszard, J. J., Rahmannia, S., Ansari, M. B., … Houghton, L. A. (2021). Differences in micronutrient intakes of exclusive and partially breastfed Indonesian infants from resource-poor households are not accompanied by differences in micronutrient status, morbidity, or growth. Journal of Nutrition, 151, 705-715. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxaa381

Green, T. J., Whitfield, K. C., Daniels, L., Brown, R. C., & Houghton, L. A. (2021). Modeling thiamine fortification: A case study from Kuria atoll, Republic of Kiribati. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1498, 108-115. doi: 10.1111/nyas.14561

Journal - Research Article

Taylor, R. W., Conlon, C. A., Beck, K. L., von Hurst, P. R., Te Morenga, L. A., Daniels, L., Haszard, J. J., Meldrum, A. M., McLean, N. H., Cox, A. M., Tukuafu, L., Casale, M., Brown, K. J., Jones, E. A., Katiforis, I., Rowan, M., McArthur, J., Fleming, E. A., Wheeler, B. J., Houghton, L. A., Diana, A., & Heath, A.-L. M. (2021). Nutritional implications of baby-led weaning and baby food pouches as novel methods of infant feeding: Protocol for an observational study. JMIR Research Protocols, 10(4), e29048. doi: 10.2196/29048

Journal - Research Other

MacDonell, S. O., Miller, J. C., Harper, M. J., Reid, M. R., Haszard, J. J., Gibson, R. S., & Houghton, L. A. (2021). Multiple micronutrients, including zinc, selenium and iron, are positively associated with anemia in New Zealand aged care residents. Nutrients, 13(4), 1072. doi: 10.3390/nu13041072

Journal - Research Article

Leong, C., Liesaputra, V., Morrison, C., Parameswaran, P., Grace, D., Healey, D., Ware, L., Palmer, O., Goddard, E., & Houghton, L. A. (2021). Designing video games for nutrition education: A participatory approach. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 53(10), 832-842. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2021.07.001

Journal - Research Article

Gibson, R. S., Rahmannia, S., Diana, A., Leong, C., Haszard, J. J., Hampel, D., Reid, M., … Houghton, L. A. (2020). Association of maternal diet, micronutrient status, and milk volume with milk micronutrient concentrations in Indonesian mothers at 2 and 5 months postpartum. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 112, 1039-1050. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa200

Journal - Research Article

Houghton, L. A., McIntosh, D. R., Trilok-Kumar, G., Haszard, J. J., & Gibson, R. S. (2020). Suboptimal feeding and caring practices among young Indian children aged 12 to 24 mo living in the slums of New Delhi. Nutrition, 69, 110553. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2019.110553

Journal - Research Article

Morrison, A. L., Lewthwaite, H., Houghton, L. A., Nasak, D. S. J., Sharples, K. J., Brown, P., Crump, J. A., & Jack, S. J. (2020). Child undernutrition in households with microbiologically safer drinking water and ‘improved water’ in Tanna, Vanuatu. Journal of Water & Health, 18(3), 416-429. doi: 10.2166/wh.2020.262

Journal - Research Article

Ranque, C. L., Stroble, C., Amicucci, M. J., Tu, D., Diana, A., Rahmannia, S., … Gibson, R. S., … Houghton, L. A., & Lebrilla, C. B. (2020). Examination of carbohydrate products in feces reveals potential biomarkers distinguishing exclusive and nonexclusive breastfeeding practices in infants. Journal of Nutrition, 150, 1051-1057. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxaa028

Journal - Research Article

Peddie, M., Ranasinghe, C., Scott, T., Heath, A.-L., Horwath, C., Gibson, R., Brown, R., Houghton, L., & Haszard, J. (2020). Dietary intake nutritional status and lifestyle of adolescent vegetarian and nonvegetarian girls in New Zealand (The SuNDiAL Project): Protocol for a clustered, cross-sectional survey. JMIR Research Protocols, 9(5), e17310. doi: 10.2196/17310

Journal - Research Other

Bromage, S., Daria, T., Lander, R. L., Tsolmon, S., Houghton, L. A., Tserennadmid, E., … Gibson, R. S., & Ganmaa, D. (2020). Diet and nutrition status of Mongolian adults. Nutrients, 12(5), 1514. doi: 10.3390/nu12051514

Journal - Research Article

Hunt, S. E., Netting, M. J., Sullivan, T. R., Best, K. P., Houghton, L. A., Makrides, M., … Green, T. J. (2020). Red blood cell folate likely overestimated in Australian National Survey: Implications for neural tube defect risk. Nutrients, 12(5), 1283. doi: 10.3390/nu12051283

Journal - Research Other

Houghton, L. A., Brown, R. C., Beaumont, S., Jennings, S., Bailey, K. B., Haszard, J. J., … Daniels, L., & Gibson, R. S. (2019). Micronutrient status differs among Maasai and Kamba preschoolers participating in a supplementary feeding program in Kenya. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 15, e12805. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12805

Journal - Research Article

Houghton, L. A., Trilok-Kumar, G., McIntosh, D., Haszard, J. J., Harper, M. J., Reid, M., … Bailey, K., & Gibson, R. S. (2019). Multiple micronutrient status and predictors of anemia in young children aged 12-23 months living in New Delhi, India. PLoS ONE, 14(2), e0209564. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209564

Journal - Research Article

Daniels, L., Gibson, R. S., Diana, A., Haszard, J. J., Rahmannia, S., Luftimas, D. E., … Reid, M., … Houghton, L. A. (2019). Micronutrient intakes of lactating mothers and their association with breast milk concentrations and micronutrient adequacy of exclusively breastfed Indonesian infants. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 110, 391-400. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz047

Journal - Research Article

Diana, A., Purnamasari, D. M., Rahmannia, S., Luftimas, D. E., Haszard, J. J., Gibson, R. S., & Houghton, L. A. (2019). Multimicronutrient biomarkers are related to anemia during infancy in Indonesia: A repeated cross sectional study. Current Developments in Nutrition, 3, nzz022. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzz022

Journal - Research Article

Rahmannia, S., Diana, A., Luftimas, D. E., Gurnida, D. A., Herawati, D. M. D., Houghton, L. A., & Gibson, R. S. (2019). Poor dietary diversity and low adequacy of micronutrient intakes among rural Indonesian lactating women from Sumedang district, West Java. PLoS ONE, 14(7), e0219675. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219675

Journal - Research Article

Slater, C., Kaestel, P., & Houghton, L. (2019). Assessing breastfeeding practices objectively using stable isotope techniques. Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, 75, 109-113. doi: 10.1159/000503667

Journal - Research Other

Bulloch, R. E., McCowan, L. M. E., Thompson, J. M. D., Houghton, L. A., & Wall, C. R. (2019). Plasma folate and its association with folic acid supplementation, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors among New Zealand pregnant women. British Journal of Nutrition, 122, 910-918. doi: 10.1017/S0007114519001788

Journal - Research Article

Lawley, B., Otal, A., Moloney-Geany, K., Diana, A., Houghton, L., Heath, A.-L. M., Taylor, R. W., & Tannock, G. W. (2019). Fecal microbiotas of Indonesian and New Zealand children differ in complexity and bifidobacterial taxa during the first year of life. Applied & Environmental Microbiology, 85(19), e01105-1. doi: 10.1128/aem.01105-19

Journal - Research Article

Holmes, J. B., Kroeun, H., Houghton, L. A., Gibson, R. S., Harding, K. B., De-Regil, L. M., … Karakochuk, C. D. (2019). Including 60 mg elemental iron in a multiple micronutrient supplement blunts the increase in serum zinc after 12 weeks of daily supplementation in predominantly anemic, nonpregnant Cambodian women of reproductive age. Journal of Nutrition, 149, 1503-1510. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz097

Journal - Research Article

Michaux, K. D., Hou, K., Karakochuk, C. D., Whitfield, K. C., Ly, S., Verbowski, V., … Houghton, L. A., … Green, T. J. (2019). Effect of enhanced homestead food production on anaemia among Cambodian women and children: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 15(Suppl. 3), e12757. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12757

Journal - Research Article

Liu, Z., Diana, A., Slater, C., Preston, T., Gibson, R. S., Houghton, L., & Duffull, S. B. (2019). Development of a parsimonious design for optimal classification of exclusive breastfeeding. Clinical & Translational Science, 8, 596-605. doi: 10.1002/psp4.12428

Journal - Research Article

Haszard, J. J., Diana, A., Daniels, L., Houghton, L. A., & Gibson, R. S. (2019). Development of a nutrient quality score for the complementary diets of Indonesian infants and relationships with linear growth and stunting: A longitudinal analysis. British Journal of Nutrition, 122, 71-77. doi: 10.1017/S0007114519000813

Journal - Research Article

Diana, A., Haszard, J. J., Houghton, L. A., & Gibson, R. S. (2019). Breastmilk intake among exclusively breastfed Indonesian infants is negatively associated with maternal fat mass [Brief communication]. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 73, 1206-1208. doi: 10.1038/s41430-019-0458-1

Journal - Research Other

Liu, Z., Diana, A., Slater, C., Preston, T., Gibson, R. S., Houghton, L., & Duffull, S. B. (2019). Development of a nonlinear hierarchical model to describe the disposition of deuterium in mother-infant pairs to assess exclusive breastfeeding practice. Journal of Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics, 46, 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s10928-018-9613-x

Journal - Research Article

MacDonell, S. O., Miller, J. C., Harper, M. J., Reid, M. R., Haszard, J. J., Gibson, R. S., & Houghton, L. A. (2018). A comparison of methods for adjusting biomarkers of iron, zinc, and selenium status for the effect of inflammation in an older population: A case for interleukin 6. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 107(6), 932-940. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy052

Journal - Research Article

Choukri, M. A., Conner, T. S., Haszard, J. J., Harper, M. J., & Houghton, L. A. (2018). Effect of vitamin D supplementation on depressive symptoms and psychological wellbeing in healthy adult women: A double-blind randomised controlled clinical trial. Journal of Nutritional Science, 7, e23. doi: 10.1017/jns.2018.14

Journal - Research Article

Stamm, R. A., March, K. M., Karakochuk, C. D., Gray, A. R., Brown, R. C., Green, T. J., & Houghton, L. A. (2018). Lactating Canadian women consuming 100μg folic acid daily have high circulating serum folic acid above a threshold concentration of serum total folate. Journal of Nutrition, 148(7), 1103-1108. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxy070

Journal - Research Article

Wheeler, B. J., Taylor, B. J., de Lange, M., Harper, M. J., Jones, S., Mekhail, A., & Houghton, L. A. (2018). A longitudinal study of 25-hydroxy vitamin D and parathyroid hormone status throughout pregnancy and exclusive lactation in New Zealand mothers and their infants at 45° S. Nutrients, 10(1), 86. doi: 10.3390/nu10010086

Journal - Research Article

Mazahery, H., Cairncross, C., Conlon, C., Houghton, L., Coad, J., Camargo, Jr, C., … von Hurst, P. (2018). Type of cows' milk consumption and relationship to health predictors in New Zealand preschool children. New Zealand Medical Journal, 131(1468), 54-68. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

McKenzie, B. L., Edmonds, L., Thomson, R., Haszard, J. J., & Houghton, L. A. (2018). Nutrition practices and predictors of postnatal growth in preterm infants during hospitalization: A longitudinal study. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, 66(2), 312-317. doi: 10.1097/mpg.0000000000001747

Journal - Research Article

Diana, A., Haszard, J. J., Purnamasari, D. M., Nurulazmi, I., Luftimas, D. E., Rahmania, S., … Gibson, R. S., & Houghton, L. (2017). Iron, zinc, vitamin A and selenium status in a cohort of Indonesian infants after adjusting for inflammation using several different approaches. British Journal of Nutrition, 118(10), 830-839. doi: 10.1017/S0007114517002860

Journal - Research Article

Karakochuk, C. D., Barr, S. I., Boy, E., Bahizire, E., Tugirimana, P. L., Akilimali, P. Z., Houghton, L. A., & Green, T. J. (2017). The effect of inflammation on serum zinc concentrations and the prevalence estimates of population-level zinc status among Congolese children aged 6-59 months. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 71, 1467-1470. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2017.127

Journal - Research Article

Engle-Stone, R., Nankap, M., Ndjebayi, A. O., Allen, L. H., Shahab-Ferdows, S., Hampel, D., … Houghton, L. A., … Stamm, R. A., & Brown, K. H. (2017). Iron, zinc, folate, and vitamin B-12 status increased among women and children in Yaoundé and Douala, Cameroon, 1 year after introducing fortified wheat flour. Journal of Nutrition, 147(7), 1426-1436. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.245076

Journal - Research Article

Diana, A., Mallard, S. R., Haszard, J. J., Purnamasari, D. M., Nurulazmi, I., Herliani, P. D., … Gibson, R. S., & Houghton, L. (2017). Consumption of fortified infant foods reduces dietary diversity but has a positive effect on subsequent growth in infants from Sumedang district, Indonesia. PLoS ONE, 12(4), e0175952. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175952

Journal - Research Article

Karakochuk, C. D., Barker, M. K., Whitfield, K. C., Barr, S. I., Vercauteren, S. M., Devlin, A. M., … Houghton, L. A., … Green, T. J. (2017). The effect of oral iron with or without multiple micronutrients on hemoglobin concentration and hemoglobin response among nonpregnant Cambodian women of reproductive age: A 2 x 2 factorial, double-blind, randomized controlled supplementation trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 106(1), 233-244. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.140996

Journal - Research Article

Chebaya, P., Karakochuk, C. D., March, K. M., Chen, N. N., Stamm, R. A., Kroeun, H., … Houghton, L. A., … Whitfield, K. C. (2017). Correlations between maternal, breast milk, and infant vitamin B12 concentrations among mother-infant dyads in Vancouver, Canada and Prey Veng, Cambodia: An exploratory analysis. Nutrients, 9(3), 270. doi: 10.3390/nu9030270

Journal - Research Article

Karakochuk, C. D., Whitfield, K. C., Rappaport, A. I., Barr, S. I., Vercauteren, S. M., McLean, J., … Houghton, L. A., Bailey, K. B., … Green, T. J. (2017). Comparison of four immunoassays to measure serum ferritin concentrations and iron deficiency prevalence among non-pregnant Cambodian women and Congolese children. Clinical Chemistry & Laboratory Medicine, 55(1), 65-72. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2016-0421

Journal - Research Article

Dennis, N. A., Houghton, L. A., Pankhurst, M. W., Harper, M. J., & McLennan, I. S. (2017). Acute supplementation with high dose Vitamin D3 increases serum anti-Müllerian hormone in young women. Nutrients, 9, 719. doi: 10.3390/nu9070719

Journal - Research Article

Cairncross, C. T., Stonehouse, W., Conlon, C. A., Grant, C. C., McDonald, B., Houghton, L. A., … von Hurst, P. R. (2017). Predictors of vitamin D status in New Zealand preschool children. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 13(3), e12340. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12340

Journal - Research Article

Houghton, L. A., Parnell, W. R., Thomson, C. D., Green, T. J., & Gibson, R. S. (2016). Serum zinc is a major predictor of anemia and mediates the effect of selenium on hemoglobin in school-aged children in a nationally representative survey in New Zealand. Journal of Nutrition, 146(9), 1670-1676. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.235127

Journal - Research Article

Mallard, S. R., Howe, A. S., & Houghton, L. A. (2016). Vitamin D status and weight loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and nonrandomized controlled weight-loss trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 104(4), 1151-1159. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.136879

Journal - Research Article

Mallard, S. R., Houghton, L. A., Filteau, S., Chisenga, M., Siame, J., Kasonka, L., … Gibson, R. S. (2016). Micronutrient adequacy and dietary diversity exert positive and distinct effects on linear growth in urban Zambian infants. Journal of Nutrition, 146(10), 2093-2101. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.233890

Journal - Research Article

Wheeler, B. J., Taylor, B. J., Herbison, P., Haszard, J. J., Mekhail, A., Jones, S., Harper, M. J., & Houghton, L. A. (2016). High-dose monthly maternal cholecalciferol supplementation during breastfeeding affects maternal and infant vitamin D status at 5 months postpartum: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nutrition, 146(10), 1999-2006. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.236679

Journal - Research Article

MacDonell, S. O., Miller, J. C., Harper, M. J., Waters, D. L., & Houghton, L. A. (2016). Vitamin D status and its predictors in New Zealand aged-care residents eligible for a government-funded universal vitamin D supplementation programme. Public Health Nutrition, 19(18), 3349-3360. doi: 10.1017/S1368980016001683

Journal - Research Article

Miller, J. C., MacDonell, S. O., Gray, A. R., Reid, M. R., Barr, D. J., Thomson, C. D., & Houghton, L. A. (2016). Iodine status of New Zealand elderly residents in long-term residential care. Nutrients, 8(8), 445. doi: 10.3390/nu8080445

Journal - Research Article

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