Meet our Applied Human Nutrition faculty members
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Dr. Kyly Whitfield, PhD, Department Chair, Associate Professor
Research interests: Dr. Whitfield is passionate about international nutrition, with interests in identifying and combating micronutrient deficiencies during ‘the first thousand days’ window, from conception through 2 years. Read more »
Dr. Patricia Williams, PhD, Professor*
patty.williams@msvu.ca
*On Sabbatical until January 1, 2026
Research interests: Participatory research processes into social and policy change necessary to build food security. Read more »
Dr. Bohdan Luhovyy, PhD, Professor
bohdan.luhovyy@msvu.ca
Research interests: Functional foods and food-derived bioactivities; mechanisms of adaptive responses to chronic dietary exposures, the role of food-born substances in physiologic and metabolic regulations. Read more »
Dr. Phillip Joy, PhD, Associate Professor
phillip.joy@msvu.ca
Research interests: I am a registered dietitian with the Nova Scotia Dietetic Association (NSDA). My research interests are driven from my own experiences as part of the LGBTQQIP2SAA community. A community that is often silenced through heteronormative social and cultural discourses. Read more »
Dr. Irene Ogada, PhD, Associate Professor
irene.ogada1@msvu.ca
Research interests: Maternal and Child Nutrition, Social Determinants of Health, Intersectionality in Nutrition and Health, Community Nutrition Programming. Read more »
Jillian Ruhl, MScAHN, PDt, Lab Instructor and Faculty Supervising Dietitian
jillian.ruhl@msvu.ca
As the Faculty Supervising Dietitian for the Internship Education Program, I serve as an educational liaison between dietetic interns and sponsors/preceptors at sponsoring organizations of our program. Read more »
Meredith Bessey, PhD, RD Assistant Professor
Meredith.bessey@msvu.ca
Research interests: Women’s experiences of weight stigma/bias in healthcare; biomedical interventions into body weight; arts-based research; critical theory. Read more
Professors Emeritus
Dr. Daphne Lordly, DEd, Professor Emerita
daphne.lordly@msvu.ca
Research interests: Dietetic education and the socialization of dietetic students and practitioners, and how gender is implicated in these processes; arts-informed research and pedagogy. Read more »
Linda Mann, Professor Emerita
linda.mann@msvu.ca
Research interests: Impacts of parenting styles on healthy eating and physical activity behaviours of young adults, support for responsive feeding in home and childcare settings, and innovative and entrepreneurial aspects of nutrition and dietetic practice. Read more »
Dr. Matt McSweeney. PhD, Adjunct Professor
Dr. Priya Kathirvel, PhD, Adjunct Professor
Dr.Sukhinder Cheema, PhD, Adjunct Professor