About
Dr Taryn Smith is a Honorary Research Associate within the Department of Women's and Children's Health.
Dr Smith's research interests lie within the areas of maternal and child nutrition, global nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and child development. She has extensive experience in conducting observational and intervention studies in women and young children in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
Dr Smith holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Surrey, where she conducted a randomised controlled trial to estimate the dietary requirements for vitamin D among UK-based adolescents. She then undertook a post-doc at the Institute for Global Nutrition, University of California Davis, where she relocated to Laos to lead the implementation of a hospital- and community-based prospective cohort study to develop a case definition for thiamine responsive disorders among infants.
Dr Smith is currently working on projects across sub-Saharan Africa focused on the role of nutrition in early child development and the nurturing care of children.
Prizes or Honours
- Drummond Early Career Scientist (British Nutrition Foundation, 2020)
- Vice-Chancellor's Postgraduate Researcher of the Year 2017 (University of Surrey, 2017)
- Postgraduate Symposium Competition Winner (The Nutrition Society, 2017)
- New Investigator Award (International Conference on Children's Bone Health, 2017)
- Young Investigator Award (National Osteoporosis Society, 2016)
Funded Fellowships
- IMMANA Fellowship: Further development and assessment of tools to measure risk factors for and treatment of thiamine deficiency disorders: a comparison of rural and urban contexts in Lao PDR (2021 - 2022)