Rate My Professor Louise Mainvil

Dr. Louise Mainvil is a Senior Research Fellow at Va'a o Tautai - Centre for Pacific Health in the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. She holds a PhD (2011), MSc (1993, thesis on adherence to lifestyle recommendations in insulin-treated diabetes mellitus), and BSc from the University of Otago, along with qualifications as a registered dietitian (NZRD, RD USA). Her doctoral research developed and validated brief instruments to measure adult fruit and vegetable consumption. Previously, from 1998 to 2019, she worked as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago, where she taught and supervised numerous Master of Dietetics theses.

Dr. Mainvil's research focuses on health service delivery research, impact management and social value assessment of health services such as Turanga Health, public health, health promotion, and determinants of health. Her work addresses public health nutrition issues including Māori household experiences of food insecurity, the social value of rescuing food to nourish communities, sustainable social enterprises, dietary interventions like kiwifruit for vitality in low vitamin C adults, and evaluations of programs such as the 5+YourWay Coach service and the Heart Foundation Tick label's influence on sodium intake and healthy food prices. Key publications include Conner et al. (2020), 'KiwiC for Vitality: Results of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial Testing the Effects of Kiwifruit or Vitamin C Tablets on Vitality in Adults with Low Vitamin C Levels' (Nutrients); Beavis et al. (2019), 'Exploration of Māori Household Experiences of Food Insecurity' (Nutrition & Dietetics); Brown et al. (2019), 'Do We Teach Our Students to Share and to Care?' (Research in Post-Compulsory Education); Mirosa et al. (2016), 'The Social Value of Rescuing Food, Nourishing Communities' (British Food Journal); and Mainvil et al. (2011), 'Validation of Brief Instruments to Measure Adult Fruit and Vegetable Consumption' (Appetite). Her contributions have advanced evidence-based nutrition strategies in New Zealand.