February 27, 2015 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu 

The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science at the New York Academy of Sciences presents only three $50,000 awards each year to support research projects on under-explored and often under-funded topics. This year’s awards focus on the nutritional status of adolescent women with consideration given to the potential benefits for their future offspring.

Edward Frongillo, professor and chair in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB), has been selected as a 2015 recipient to pursue a project that examines the nutritional status of adolescent women in Harare, Zimbabwe. The project aims to learn about how adolescent girls, in the context of their social environment, understand pregnancy, planning for pregnancy and nutrition. The ultimate goal for the proposed project, entitled Understanding Conceptualizations and Social Environment for Improving Pre-pregnancy Planning and Nutrition for Adolescent Women, is to develop effective ways to help address their needs for information and preparation.

“Promoting the health and nutrition of undernourished adolescent girls is a high global priority,” Frongillo says. “But many in low-income countries are poorly prepared for pregnancy and the roles of being adult women and mothers.” 

Originally from Zimbabwe herself, HPEB doctoral candidate Chiwoneso Tinago will conduct the research as part of her dissertation project. After graduating with a masters’ in public health degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, Tinago spent six months working for the USAID-funded Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program in Zimbabwe prior to enrolling in her doctoral program at the Arnold School. Lucy Annang-Ingram, associate professor of HPEB, will oversee the research project as Tinago’s primary dissertation advisor. Frongillo will advise as a member of her doctoral committee.