Marina Tandoh Aferiba

Faculty Biography

Dr. Marina Aferiba Tandoh is a lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (Human Nutrition and Dietetics unit), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi Ghana. Her research interests include issues of global health, interventions to improve nutrition across the life-cycle, improvement in nutritional anaemias and cognitive performance among school-age children through the development of nutrition educational strategies, as well as the development of innovative strategies to improve nutrition and reduce parasitic infections among children.She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, a Master of Philosophy in Dietetics from the University of Ghana, Legon and a PhD in Foods and Nutrition from the University of Georgia, U.S.A. Over the past eight (8) years she has been involved in research in food security, exploration in the use of indigenous local crops/herbs and the use of nutrition education in the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension etc, and issues with malnutrition (stunting, underweight and wasting), hidden hunger (anaemias and other micronutrient deficiencies), helminthiasis and cognition among school-age children in Ghana. Recommendations arising from these studies have sought to inform policy and programme developers to design tailor-made interventions that will address such pertinent issues bordering on the double burden of malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Ghana. She has also been involved in research into the nutritional health of renal and stroke patients in selected hospitals in Ghana, and the development of nutrition education materials to improve nutrition among such vulnerable groups. She has 10 years of teaching and research experience in nutrition and dietetics, nutrition education, micronutrient supplementation, parasitology, food security, cognitive performance, over nutrition, undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. She has also been involved in national and international seminars and workshops and nutrition counselling and food demonstrations. She has also supervised 28 undergraduate students and 20 postgraduate students since 2013. Currently, she has 16 publications in peer-reviewed journals and currently submitting 9 of these papers for consideration in her application assessment for promotion to the rank of Senior Lecturer. She has served on several committees in KNUST, Ghana, and was the Vice President for Graduate students at the Department of Foods and Nutrition at the University of Georgia (U.S.A) in 2017/2018 academic year.