Brenda Abu Headshot

Brenda Abu

Associate Professor, Dietetics and Nutrition

Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition
College of Health Sciences and Technology
Program Director
baaihst@rit.edu
585-475-4516
Office Location
SLA-A624

Brenda Abu

Associate Professor, Dietetics and Nutrition

Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition
College of Health Sciences and Technology
Program Director

Education

BS, University for Development Studies (Ghana); MPhil, University of Ghana (Ghana); Ph.D., University of the Free State (South Africa)

Bio

Dr. Abu is an Associate Professor in the Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition at RIT. She was formerly an Assistant Professor and Post-doctoral Research Fellow in her current department at RIT. Before joining RIT, she served as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Nutritional Sciences Department at Texas Tech University. 

Dr. Abu received her PhD in Nutrition from the University of the Free State (South Africa), completed her Dietetics internship at Iowa State University (USA), a Master of Science in Nutrition from the University of Ghana (Ghana), and a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honors) in Community Nutrition from the University for Development Studies (Ghana).

Dr. Abu has experience as a clinical dietician, lecturer, and nutrition consultant. Her research interests include micronutrient deficiencies, oral health, food security, maternal and child nutrition, program/project design and impact assessment, and stakeholder engagement. She works with others using a multi-disciplinary approach to address micronutrient nutrition and oral health among women and their children. She applies the same approach to address food and nutrition security among diverse populations (the USA and South Africa). She is also involved with addressing anemia in low-income communities using sustainable food-based approaches while facilitating stakeholder engagement (Ghana).

baaihst@rit.edu
585-475-4516
Personal Links
ORCID
Google Scholar
Areas of Expertise
Food and Nutrition Insecurity
Micronutrient Intake and Deficiencies
Iron and Iodine Nutrition Program Design and Development
Impact Assessment
Stakeholder Engagement
Dental and Oral Health

Select Scholarship

Journal Paper
Godleski, S., Abu, B.A, and Kothari, A. "A Qualitative Needs Assessment and Analysis of Perceptions of a Mobile Health App for Low-Income, At-Risk Mothers." J. technol. behav. sci.. (2020): online. Web.
Abu, Brenda Ariba Zarhari, Jacques Eugene Raubenheimer, and Violet Louise van den Berg. "Iron-focussed Nutritional Status of Mothers with Children (6–59 months) in Rural Northern Ghana." Heliyon 6. 6 (2020): e04017. Web.
Kothari, A., Godleski, S., and Abu B.A.Z. "Mobile-based Consortium of Parenting Resources for Low-income and Underserved Mothers and Caregivers: App Development, Testing and Lessons Learned." Health Technol.. 10 (2020): 1603–1608. Web.
Abu, Brenda A.Z., Wilna Oldewage‐Theron,, and Richmond N.O. Aryeetey. "Risks of Excess Iodine Intake in Ghana: Current Situation, Challenges, and Lessons for the Future." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1446. 1 (2019): 117-138. Web.
Abu, Brenda A. Z., et al. "Qualitative Assessments of Anemia‐related Programs in Ghana Reveal Gaps and Implementation Challenges." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. (2020): 1-15. Web.
Abu, Brenda and Wilna Oldewage-Theron. "Food insecurity among college students in West Texas." British Food Journal 121. 3 (2019): 738-754. Web.
Saha, Sanjoy, et al. "Available food options at local shops in relation to food insecurity among older adults in Sharpeville, South Africa." African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 19. 2 (2019): 14500-14516. Web.
Saha, Sanjoy, et al. "Is iodine deficiency still a problem in sub-Saharan Africa?: a review." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 78. (2019): 554–566. Print.
Garcia-Casal, Maria Nieves, et al. "Risk of excessive intake of vitamins and mineralsdelivered through public health interventions: objectives,results, conclusions of the meeting, and the way forward." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1446. (2018): 5–20. Web.
Oldewage-Theron, Wilna, et al. "Food insecurity and food access among seniors in Lubbock, Texas." Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. (2018): 1-15. Web.
Invited Article/Publication
Abu, Brenda, Barbara Lohse, and Leslie Cunningham-Sabo. "Parent BMI Increase 2 to 5 Years Post-study Related to Change in Age but Independent of Other Sociodemographics, Health Behavior, and Study Engagement (P16-001-19)." Current Developments in Nutrition. (2019). Print.
Abu, Brenda, et al. "Multifocal Assessment Reveals Anemia-related Program Gaps and Implementation Challenges in Ghana (P10-088-19)." Current Developments in Nutrition. (2019). Print.

Currently Teaching

NUTR-333
Nutrition Education for Health Professionals
3 Credits
Nutrition Education for Health Professionals is a 3-credit course focused on the theory and practice of providing nutrition information with specific focus on writing for nutrition communications. This course prepares students to provide effective nutrition education and counseling, and give effective presentations. The course highlights the role of technology in health and nutrition programs and the application of technology in health and nutrition program evaluation. Topics include communications methods, writing skills for the nutrition discipline, learner/ audience analysis, basic learning and behavior theory, developing counseling and training materials, as well as designing, making, and evaluating individual and group presentations using various approaches, including technology applications.
WSHN-710
Population Health, Risk Identification & Management
3 Credits
Introduces population health with focus on the social determinants of health. Engages students in the concept of risk as an epidemiologic concept and the application of epidemiology to population health surveillance, population health risk assessment. Students will have the opportunity to explore the intersection of population health with public policy, and evaluate how determinants of health, epidemiological findings, health disparities, political interest, availability of resources, and accessibility influence the health and well-being of a community and population.
WSHN-790
Health & Well-being Management Thesis
1-6 Credits
Application of writing and research skills and principles in an independent investigation of a focused problem under direction of thesis adviser. Components include review of literature, definition of research aims, data collection and analysis, interpretation and discussion of findings, preparation of written paper following specified guidelines and standards, and oral defense of thesis. Enrollment for 6 credits in one semester or as necessary over multiple semesters for a total of 6 credits.
WSHN-791
Continuation of Thesis
0 Credits
This course provides students additional semester to complete their thesis research, document and defense.
WSHN-797
Health & Well-being Management Project
3 Credits
Application of writing and research skills and principles in an independent investigation of a focused problem under direction of a project adviser. Preparation of a Project Report following specified guidelines and standards, and oral presentation of the key report components.
WSHN-799
Independent Study
1-4 Credits
This course provides the opportunity for independent investigation, under faculty supervision, on a subject matter either not included in existing courses or further investigation of a topic of interest presented in another course. A student-driven, faculty mentored proposal is drafted that describes the plan of work, deliverables expected, evaluation criteria, and possible credit load.

In the News

More News