Professor Danielle Gallegos
Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences
Biography
I have made a significant contribution to public health nutrition research in particular in the areas of food security, food literacy and early infant feeding. My research focuses on real world “wicked” problems that require interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary solutions. The research actively engages community members in strengths-based approaches. I have a passion for building our understanding of the everyday challenges facing families as they put food on the table. I have led major implementation projects in the area of food, nutrition and early childhood education and care with significant outcomes leading to practice change. I have a strong commitment to research mentorship building capacity for research in staff, and HDR students (24 completed PhDs with 4 ongoing). I am currently the Director of the Centre for Childhood Nutrition Research which was funded by the Queensland Children's Hospital Foundation. I have secured over $9 million in funding for research.I have worked with refugee families, First Nations communities, youth in transition and families living with poverty. Most recent achievements include:
- Publication of the 5th edition of the seminal textbook for introductory food and nutrition - Food and Nutrition: Sustainable Food and Health Systems with Mark Wahlqvist and Naiyana Wattanapanpaiboon. This textbook talks about the interconnectedness of personal and planetary health and champions the concept of econutrition.
- Building a co-design gateway for children's nutrition research and co-authoring with Associate Professor Jeremy Kerr The Art of Codesign
- Developing a portfolio of solutions to assist feeding families in tough times and keeping children from being hungry (Feeding Families in Tough Times)
- Championing universal school meals in Australia and developing www.schoolfoodies.org.au a curriculum toolkit to integrate food and nutrition across the curriculum and join the dots of the school food and nutrition environment
- Working with Associate Professors Lee Wharton and Deb Duthie to codesign a model for food sovereignty in urban and rural areas.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences
Keywords
child nutrition, food security, food literacy, public health nutrition, qualitative methodologies
Research field
Nutrition and dietetics
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Murdoch University)
Professional memberships and associations
Danielle is currently an Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian (AdvAPD) and a Fellow of the Dietitians Australia (FDA). Danielle is also a member of the Public Health Association of Australia and the World Public Health Nutrition Association.
Teaching
I am currently focussing on research training supervising PhD, Masters and Dietetic Honours students
I have previously taught:
- Community and Public Health Nutrition
- Food Citizenship
In 2026 I will be teaching into first year units and assisting with the Dietetics Honours program
Experience
I actively work with a range of organisations including the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, I have recently worked with organisations such as Jabiru, Micah Projects and Foodbank Qld
I actively contribute to the profession of nutrition and dietetics currently sitting on the board of the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations and the Australian Dietitian-Nutritionist Regulatory Council (DNRC). Within QUT I am currently a Faculty of Health ethics advisor assessing applications following a low risk pathway.
Publications
- Gallegos, D., (2026). Pregnancy and Lactation. Food and Nutrition: Sustainable Food and Health Systems, 379–394. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/262741
- Gallegos, D., (2025). Effects of Food and Nutrition Insecurity on Global Health. New England Journal of Medicine, 392(7), 686–697. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/256282
- Vidgen, H. & Gallegos, D. (2014). Defining food literacy and its components. Appetite, 76, 50–59. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/67789
- Gallegos, D., Durham, J., Rutter, C. & McKechnie, R. (2023). Working towards the Active Participation of Underrepresented Populations in Research: A Scoping Review and Thematic Synthesis. Health and Social Care in the Community, 2023, Article 1312525. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/239456
- Akbar, H., Radclyffe, C., Santos, D., Mopio-Jane, M. & Gallegos, D. (2022). 'Food Is Our Love Language': Using Talanoa to Conceptualize Food Security for the Maori and Pasifika Diaspora in South-East Queensland, Australia. Nutrients, 14(10), Article 2020. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/231623
- Boak, R., Palermo, C., Beck, E., Patch, C., Pelly, F., Wall, C. & Gallegos, D. (2022). A qualitative exploration of the future of nutrition and dietetics in Australia and New Zealand: Implications for the workforce. Nutrition and Dietetics, 79(4), 427–437. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/229548
- Kerz, A., Bell, K., White, M., Thompson, A., Suter, M., McKechnie, R. & Gallegos, D. (2021). Development and preliminary validation of a brief household food insecurity screening tool for paediatric health services in Australia. Health and Social Care in the Community, 29(5), 1538–1549. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206991
- Gallegos, D., Eivers, A., Sondergeld, P. & Pattinson, C. (2021). Food Insecurity and Child Development: A State-of-the-Art Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), Article 8990. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212939
- Cullerton, K., Donnet, T., Lee, A. & Gallegos, D. (2016). Playing the policy game: a review of the barriers to and enablers of nutrition policy change. Public Health Nutrition, 19(14), 2643–2653. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/220956
- Gingell, T., Esdaile, E. & Gallegos, D. (2025). School food and nutrition environments in Australian primary schools: A scoping review. PLoS One, 20(7), Article e0327310. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/258672
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Danielle, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Filter publications:
A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/danielle.gallegos
Awards
- Type
- Invited Talk, Presentation or Participant
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- Asian Oceania Congress on Obesity. Invited speaker on food insecurity and the ramifications for weight and health status in high income countries. Asian Oceania Congress on Obesity
- Type
- Invited Talk, Presentation or Participant
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- International Eating Disorders Congress. Invited speaker on the link between food insecurity and eating disorders
- Type
- Membership of board
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- International Confederation of Dietetic Associations. I was appointed as one of six board members to the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations. This is an elected position and the term is four years.
- Type
- Membership or Fellow of a Learned Academy or Society
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Awarded Fellow of the Dietitians Association of Australia in recognition of high level national and international contribution to the profession. One of 16 Fellows in 2018.
- Type
- Award or Prize
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee| Presented with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Award for services in nutrition and dietetics in Ho Chi Minh City
Selected research projects
- Title
- Co-designing a Food Sovereignty Model with Indigenous Communities
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- IN230100047
- Start year
- 2023
- Keywords
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- An exploration of the practice of eating among Australian families
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Vidgen - Development of An Intervention Protocol for Introducing Tailored Whole-Food Diet Therapy for Maintaining Remission and Supporting Nutrition in Paediatric Crohn's Disease
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Lynda Ross, Associate Professor Helen MacLaughlin - Exploring food and agency in the lives of young people who access Sydney youth services: connecting realities, literacies, identities, meanings, and social relations
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Vidgen - Exploring Socioeconomic Disadvantage, Food Insecurity, Diet, and the Gut Microbiome in Pregnant Women
PhD, Principal Supervisor - Feeding Families in Tough Times: Child perspectives of food insecurity
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Vidgen, Dr Sabine Baker - Indigenous food sovereignty and the revitalisation of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge in urban and rural contexts
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Lee Wharton, Associate Professor Deb Duthie
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Dysregulation of the Immune System After Paediatric Burn Injury Delays Healing (2026)
- Food and Eating in the Lives of People with Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Illness: A Life History Approach (2025)
- Kids to the Front: Exploring Children's Food Practice Perspectives for a Child-Centred Approach (2025)
- Constructing contemporary parenthood in digital spaces: Infant feeding and baby tracking applications and the mediation of Australian parenthood (2024)
- Dads At Mealtimes: Paternal Feeding Roles, Practices And Experiences In The Context Of Disadvantage (2024)
- Exploring food and settlement for people with lived refugee experiences (2024)
- Talking about food insecurity: The social construction of urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander food insecurity in Southern Meanjin/Brisbane Health Services (2024)
- The development and validation of nutrition assessment tools to explore contributing factors to childhood overweight and obesity in urban Vietnam (2023)
- A Qualitative Exploration of the Impacts of Climate Change on Food and Nutrition Security and Diet-Related Non-Communicable Diseases in Vanuatu (2021)
- Exploring household food insecurity through the livelihoods framework (2021)
Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)
Supervision topics
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.