Dr Jill Haszard

BSc, MSc, BBiomedSc, PhD

Tel: 64 3 479 7559
Room: UC G03
Email:jill.haszard@otago.ac.nz

Research Fellow

Jill is the departmental biostatistician. She completed a BSc and MSc in mathematics from the University of Waikato in 1999 and 2001. She then went on to study human nutrition at the University of Otago gaining a BBiomedSc in 2009 and a PhD in 2013. Jill has recently (2015) also completed a postgraduate diploma in biostatistics from the University of Melbourne. While Jill provides statistical advice and assistance across many different areas of human nutrition in the department, her own research interests are in how parenting impacts upon children’s weight. Her PhD thesis was entitled “Parental feeding practices in NZ” as part of a childhood obesity intervention trial, The MInT Study. She continues research in this area, particularly looking at the home food environment in children and contribution of fussy eating to overweight.

Jill was awarded a University of Otago Scholarship in Biomedical Science for her excellent achievement in her undergraduate degree and went on to receive a University of Otago PhD Scholarship. She was awarded a summer studentship in the Department of Human Nutrition in 2008.

Jill is extensively involved in the research component of the MDiet qualification, providing statistical assistance and supervision, which also extends to MSc and PhD students in the department. Jill was on the organising committee of the inaugural Postgraduate and Early Career Nutrition Conference in 2014 and is now on the organising committee for the 2015 conference. Jill facilitates the bi-monthly general biostatistics meetings for biostatisticians across the University of Otago and is a member of Box Plot. Within the department Jill facilitates both the postgraduate statistics advisor programme and the Nutrition Statistics Forum (aka “Geek Club”).

Current postgraduate students

PhD

Pouya Saeedi. Associations between dietary patterns and fitness, and indices of arterial stiffness among primary school aged children aged 9 to 11 years.

Melanie Dubyk. Intuitive eating in mid-age women in a nationwide prospective survey: a mixed-methods approach.

Claudia Leong. The MEAL study.

Master of Dietetics

Gabrielle Smith. The effects of regular activity breaks on appetite: secondary analysis of the ABPA study.

Rachael Bensley. Attitudes towards food, body image ad weight-related beliefs and how this relates to body composition in Otago adolescents.

Rachael Kerr. Can adolescents self report their heights and weights? Factors associated with self-reporting.

Recent graduates

Master of Science

Harriet Harrex. Sleep duration in 9-10 year old children and associations with diet and physical activity.

Rachel Davidson. Eating behaviour regulation and weight: A 5-year prospective study in mid-age women.

Master of Dietetics

Anna Horgan. Food availability in the homes of overweight children.

Jason Cocker. Dietary vitamin B12 and biomarkers of vitamin B12 status.

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Publications