Dr. Isaac Agbemafle is a Lecturer in Human and Biochemical Nutrition in the Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health. He is a 2020 USAID Borlaug Fellow alumna and an adjunct research scientist at Iowa State University, Ames, USA. He was also a 2015 Fogarty visiting Scholar at the University of California, Davis, USA. Isaac is a recipient of the 2020 Presidential Research Excellence award from Iowa State University and the D.R. Griffith Research Excellence award from the Nutritional sciences council at Iowa State University, USA. Isaac was also named as a 2020 emerging leader in Nutritional Sciences in the nutrition education and behavioral science category by the American Society of Nutrition, USA. He teaches courses in Nutritional Physiology, Nutritional Assessment, Applied Nutrition, Advanced Public Health Nutrition, Nutrition and Dietetics for Nurses, Maternal and Child Health, Biostatistics for Nurses, Research methods, Nutrition Education and Behavior Change Communication. He supervises both undergraduate and graduate students.

Education

PhD, Human Nutrition and Statistics (2020), Iowa State University, Ames, USA

Cert. International and Community Nutrition (2015), University of California, Davis, USA

MPhil. Nutritional Sciences (2013), University of Ghana, Legon

BSc. Biochemistry and Nutrition (2010), University of Ghana, Legon

Work Experience

During his undergraduate studies at the University of Ghana, Isaac worked on a part-time basis as a research assistant at the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and at the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS). Between 2010 and 2014, he worked as a graduate teaching and research assistant at the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Ghana, Legon. During the same period, he doubled up as a data management assistant on the iLiNS Project at the University and as a research scientist at the iodine deficiency disorders laboratory at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Legon. He was an assistant examiner for the West African Examinations Council for three years. He was a facilitator for the Nestle Healthy Kids program from 2013 to 2016. In 2015, Isaac received an NIH Fogarty funding to the University of California, Davis where we worked as a research assistant at the USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center for six months. From 2016 to present, he has been a research scientist at Iowa State University, USA where he obtained his PhD with funding from USAID. Since joining the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in October 2014, he has been building his teaching and research career in the United States of America while supporting teaching, learning and research in UHAS.

Academic/Research Interests

His research areas include but not limited to:

• Adolescent, maternal and child health/nutrition

• Data mining of large datasets on health and nutrition

• Dietary analysis and Diet modelling using linear programming

• Proximate and micronutrient composition of nutritious underutilized foods

• Protein and iron metabolism of foods using cell culture, animal, and human models

• Monitoring and evaluation of nutrition sensitive and nutrition specific interventions.

Ongoing Grants/Research 

• Efficacy of edible insect-based, orange-fleshed sweet potato infant foods in improving protein and iron status in Ghanaian children (Funding Source: To be determined)

• Effect of soymilk-burkina intake on gut microbiome and nutritional status of Ghanaian women (Funding Source: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)

• Sensory evaluation, acceptability and willingness-to-pay for ready-to-use foods (Funding source: To be determined)

• Establishment of a nutrition, health, and developmental registry of school children from early childhood to adolescence: A Longitudinal School-Based Cohort Study in the Volta and Oti regions of Ghana (HANDIESSS) (Funding source: Mastercard Foundation-McGill University, Canada)

• Towards developing nutrition guidelines and standards for school meals in Ghana: Baseline food and nutrition assessments in selected regions (Funding Source: Food and agriculture Organization- World Food Program)

• Monitoring of cost of healthy diets in Ghana (Funding Source: To be determined)

•Development of the portion size app for real-time dietary feedback (Funding Source: To be determined).

Scientific/Research Output

He is a reviewer for some internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals. Through local and international collaborations, Isaac has authored over fifteen publications in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals since joining UHAS in 2014.

Links to publications: Google Scholar (Read more...) || ORCID (Read more...).