Rate My Professor Lisa Daniels

Dr Lisa Daniels is a Senior Lecturer and New Zealand Registered Dietitian (NZRD) in the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago. She earned her PhD from the University of Otago in 2017, with a thesis titled 'Impact of a baby-led approach to complementary feeding on iron and zinc intake and status: A randomised controlled trial.' Her doctoral work was supported by a University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship and Postgraduate Publishing Bursary. Daniels represented New Zealand in synchronised swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, earning the OLY designation. She co-authored the cookbook 'YUM' with chef Nadia Lim. In 2023, she received a Health Research Council Emerging Researcher grant of $249,454 for a study on maternal perception versus actual breast milk supply. She is a member of the Paediatric Society of New Zealand, the World Olympians Association, and the Dunedin Breastfeeding Network. Daniels has delivered seminars, including a Microbiology Seminar on her research.

Daniels' research expertise lies in nutrition and public health, with a specific focus on paediatrics. She leads and co-leads projects examining breast milk intakes in New Zealand infants using the dose-to-mother stable isotope technique, breast milk nutrient composition at 7-10 months postpartum, child health metrics from Plunket electronic records such as growth trajectories, breastfeeding practices, and safe sleep environments, and healthy weight promotion in Māori preschoolers via Ministry of Health B4 School Check data. She contributes to investigations into rapid weight gain in infancy, parental knowledge of food allergens during complementary feeding, the nutritional impacts of baby-led weaning and baby food pouch use on iron status, and freeze-dried donor human milk for premature infants. Her publications include 'Early infant sleep environments: An observational study of New Zealand electronic health data' (Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health, 2025), 'Household food insecurity, nutrient intakes and BMI in New Zealand infants' (Public Health Nutrition, 2025), 'Video-measured fullness cues in baby-led weaned and traditionally spoon-fed infants and subsequent intake' (Appetite, 2025), 'Household food insecurity and novel complementary feeding methods in New Zealand families' (Maternal & Child Nutrition, 2025), and 'Parent-reported offering of allergen foods to infants during complementary feeding: An observational study of New Zealand infants' (Appetite, 2024). Her work informs infant feeding guidelines and childhood obesity trends in New Zealand.