Featured Faculty
Brenda-Abu
College of Health Sciences and Technology
Dr. Brenda Abu is an Assistant Professor (since 2019) in the Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition (WSHN) at RIT. She received her PhD in Nutrition from the University of the Free Sate (South Africa), a Master of Philosophy in Nutrition from University of Ghana (Ghana), a Bachelor of Science in Community Nutrition from the University for Development Studies (Ghana) and completed her Dietetics training at Iowa State University. She was formerly a Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Nutritional Sciences Department at Texas Tech University prior to joining RIT as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the WSHN in 2017.
Dr. Abu and collaborators use multi-disciplinary and multi-strategy approach in addressing food insecurity, and maternal and child health issues, focused especially on the micronutrient deficiencies of iron and iodine. The Paul and Francena Miller Chair grant in International Education at RIT supported her work on exploring sustainable, food-based approaches to address anemia and iodine deficiency. She used stakeholder engagement by conducting assessments of national anemia programs in Ghana. The World Health Organization (WHO) supported a similar project focused on the assessments of the risk of excess intake of iodine in Ghana. Data from these projects were published in the Annals of the Academy of the New York Academy of Sciences. Key findings from this work are applicable to low-income settings in Rochester.
Dr. Abu is the principal investigator of a project funded through the RIT grant writer’s boot camp to study food insecurity, pica practices and anemia among pregnant women in Rochester. She plans to expand this research to surrounding counties in New York to further the understanding of the association between anemia and pica.
Dr. Abu’s research includes the use of mobile apps and m-health education to improve nutrition among young mothers and their children in low-income communities in Rochester, NY. Dr. Abu and co-principal investigators from RIT developed a parenting app to serve as a compendium of resources for young mothers within the Rochester area. This study focused on the usability and relevance of the information and resources showcased on the app was funded by the Rochester’s Child Foundation in Rochester, New York.
Dr. Brenda Abu
Assistant Professor
Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition