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Sameera
A.
Talegawkar
,
PhD

Associate Professor
- Adjunct

Departmental Affiliations

Affiliated
Division
Human Nutrition

Center & Institute Affiliations

Contact Info

Research Interests

dietary assessment; chronic disease; minority populations; aging; immigrants; nutritional epidemiology

Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy
2006
MHSc
Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University
1998
Overview

I am a nutritional epidemiologist by training and the overall goal of my research program is to examine the role of diet and nutritional exposures in the health disparities experienced by underserved and high risk minority populations with respect to chronic disease. I am also interested in studying the role of dietary determinants of frailty and age-associated functional declines in the elderly. I have significant expertise in dietary assessment methodologies including the development and validation of food frequency questionnaires in diverse populations.


I collaborate with several longitudinal studies including the Jackson Heart Study, the MASALA study, the InCHIANTI study and the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. My dietary assessment projects are based in several countries and include countries in Europe, Asia and South America.

Honors & Awards

 


2012                Faculty Innovation Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,   

                        Baltimore, MD

2009                Annual American Geriatrics Society, the National Institute on Aging, and the          

                        John A. Hartford Foundation Bedside-to-Bench Conference Travel Award 

2006                Christian Herter Fund Travel Award, Tufts University, Boston, MA

2000-2002      Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition  

                        Science & Policy Tuition Scholarship, Tufts University, Boston, MA                                                                                                                                            

2000-2001       J.N Tata Scholarship, J.N Tata Endowment, Mumbai, India                                       2000-2001       Jamshetji Tata Gift Award, J.N Tata Endowment, Mumbai, India 

Faculty Innovation Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2012)


Annual American Geriatrics Society, the National Institute on Aging, and the John A. Hartford Foundation Bedside-to-Bench Conference Travel Award  (2009)


Christian Herter Fund Travel Award, Tufts University (2006)


Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy Tuition Scholarship, Tufts University (2000-2002)


J.N Tata Scholarship, J.N Tata Endowment, Mumbai, India (2000-2001)


Jamshetji Tata Gift Award, J.N Tata Endowment, Mumbai, India (2000-2001)


 

Select Publications

Most Recent Publications

  • Beydoun MA, Gamaldo A, Beydoun HA, Tanaka T, Tucker KL, Talegawkar SA, Ferrucci L, Zonderman AB. Caffeine, alcohol and overall nutrient adequacy are associated with longitudinal cognitive performance among US adults. J Nutr. 2014 (in press)

  • Lee SE, Talegawkar SA, Merialdi M, Caulfield L. Dietary intakes of women during pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries. Public Health Nutr. 2013 Aug;16(8):1340-53

  • Liu J, Hickson DA, Musani SK, Talegawkar SA, Carithers TC, Tucker KL, Fox CS, Taylor HA. Dietary Patterns, Abdominal Visceral Adipose Tissue and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in African Americans: the Jackson Heart Study. Obesity. 2013 Mar;21(3):644-51

  • Talegawkar SA, Bandinelli B, Bandeen-Roche K, Chen P, Milaneschi Y, Tanaka T, Semba RD, Guralnik J, Ferrucci L. A higher adherence to a mediterranean-style diet is inversely associated with the development of frailty in community-dwelling elderly men and women. J Nutr. 2012; 142(12):2161-6. PMID: 23096005

  • Semba RD, Chang SS, Sun K, Talegawkar SA, Ferrucci L, Fried LP. Serum carotenoids and pulmonary function in older community-dwelling women. J Nutr Health Aging. 2012 Apr;16(4):291-6

Projects
WHO study for the development of growth standards from fetal life to childhood: the fetal component
Multilevel determinants of cardiovascular disease risk in African Americans
Adherence to the African Heritage Diet and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: the Jackson Heart Study