Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Parul Christian, DrPH '96, MSc, studies how to improve maternal and child nutrition and prevent micronutrient deficiencies with effective solutions in low-income settings.
Contact Info
615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E2541
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US
410-955-0196
Research Interests
public health; nutrition; micronutrients; maternal, newborn and child health; reproductive health; pregnancy; adolescents; community trials; epidemiology; cognition; Open CourseWare
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
DrPH
Johns Hopkins University
1996
MSc
University of Baroda
Overview
As a nutritionist, public health specialist and epidemiologist, Parul Christian has a broad research portfolio in maternal and child nutrition focused on scientific advances in promoting growth, resilience and survival in early life through effective solutions for the low-income context.
Over the past 25 years Parul has advanced the field of maternal and child nutrition and micronutrient deficiency prevention in South Asia and Africa. Her research, underpinned by community randomized trials and epidemiologic studies, has contributed to generating policy relevant evidence on maternal, infant and child nutrition interventions for improving outcomes of pregnancy including fetal growth, child growth and development, and long-term outcomes of cardiometabolic risk. She has over 210 peer-reviewed publications, 12 invited letters and commentaries, and 9 book chapters and serves as Associate Editor for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. From 2016 to 2019 Parul worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation as a Senior Program Officer, leading the strategy and work in women’s nutrition, shaping investigations of novel interventions for pregnant and lactating women, human milk composition and quality and nutritional biomarkers with a goal of improving birth outcomes and growth and development in early life.
Parul Christian received her undergraduate and MSc degree in foods & nutrition from the M. S. University of Baroda, India, and an MPH and DrPH from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
Over the past 25 years Parul has advanced the field of maternal and child nutrition and micronutrient deficiency prevention in South Asia and Africa. Her research, underpinned by community randomized trials and epidemiologic studies, has contributed to generating policy relevant evidence on maternal, infant and child nutrition interventions for improving outcomes of pregnancy including fetal growth, child growth and development, and long-term outcomes of cardiometabolic risk. She has over 210 peer-reviewed publications, 12 invited letters and commentaries, and 9 book chapters and serves as Associate Editor for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. From 2016 to 2019 Parul worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation as a Senior Program Officer, leading the strategy and work in women’s nutrition, shaping investigations of novel interventions for pregnant and lactating women, human milk composition and quality and nutritional biomarkers with a goal of improving birth outcomes and growth and development in early life.
Parul Christian received her undergraduate and MSc degree in foods & nutrition from the M. S. University of Baroda, India, and an MPH and DrPH from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
Honors & Awards
2014 Mid-Career Nutrition Leadership Institute, Danone
2008 M. S. University of Baroda, Foods and Nutrition Department, India - Alumni Achievement Award
2004 Pollin Stipend for young investigator of $100,000
2000 Early Career Nutrition Leadership Institute, Danone
1997 Delta Omega Honor Society (Johns Hopkins)
1996 Harry D. Kruse Award for outstanding research in Nutrition,
1996 Society for International Nutrition Research, American Institute of Nutrition - Student Prize for best
2008 M. S. University of Baroda, Foods and Nutrition Department, India - Alumni Achievement Award
2004 Pollin Stipend for young investigator of $100,000
2000 Early Career Nutrition Leadership Institute, Danone
1997 Delta Omega Honor Society (Johns Hopkins)
1996 Harry D. Kruse Award for outstanding research in Nutrition,
1996 Society for International Nutrition Research, American Institute of Nutrition - Student Prize for best
Select Publications
Publications that are most recent and provide examples of different aspects of my research interest.
- Christian P, Smith ER, Zaidi A. Addressing inequities in the global burden of maternal undernutrition: the role of targeting. BMJ Global Health 2020; 5:e002186.
- Duggan CP, Brennan L, Christian P, Fanzo J, Ludwig DS; Editors of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Knowledge and debate in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: new sections, new science, and looking forward and outward. Am J Clin Nutr 2020; 111:1-3.
- Schulze KJ, Mehra S, Shaikh S, Ali H, Shamim AA, Wu LS, Mitra M, Arguello MA, Kmush B, Sungpuag P, Udomkesmelee E, Merrill R, Klemm RDW, Ullah B, Labrique AB, West KP, Christian P. Antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation compared to iron-folic acid affects micronutrient status but does not eliminate deficiencies in a randomized controlled trial among pregnant women of rural Bangladesh. J Nutr 2019; 149: 1260-70.
- Campbell RK, Schulze KJ, Shaikh S, Raqib R, Wu LSF, Ali H, Mehra S, West KP, Christian P. Environmental enteric dysfunction and systemic inflammation predict reduced weight but not length gain in rural Bangladeshi children. Br J Nutr 2018; 11:407-14.
- Christian P, Smith ER. Adolescent Undernutrition: Global Burden, Physiology, and Nutritional Risks. Ann Nutr Metab. 2018;72:316-28.
Projects
Evaluation Of Anthelminthics And Multivitamins For Treatment Of Severe Anemia In Pregnant Women And Children In Pakistan
The portable field dark adaptometer: Validating a novel device for field-based screening and detection of vitamin A deficiency and night blindness, a debilitating condition associated with high maternal and child mortality
Impact of Malnutrition on HIV Treatment Failure in Resource-Limited Settings
Wireless Public Health Technologies to Prevent Drowning
mCare: Enhancing survival of high-risk neonates in rural S. Asia
Evaluation of complementary food supplements for reducing childhood undernutrition (JiVitA-4)
Antenatal and preschool iron and zinc use and cognition
Antenatal Micronutrient Supplementation Combinations to Reduce Fetal and Infant Mortality
Effect of Antenatal Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation on Fetal and Infant Mortality and Maternal Health in Bangladesh (JiVitA-3)
Malawi Impact Evaluation Project
Pakistan-Severe Anemia Treatment Trial
Impact of a Balanced Protein-Energy Supplement in Pregnancy and Early Lactation on Reproductive Outcomes and Growth in Southern Nepal