Dr Rebecca Byrne

Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences
Biography
Dr Rebecca Byrne is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Senior Lecturer who is passionate about supporting parents of young children and educators in the early childhood education and care setting to create calm and enjoyable mealtimes.Rebecca practised as a clinical dietitian in hospital and domiciliary settings before completing her PhD. After two years as a postdoctoral research fellow within CRE-EPOCH, an NHMRC funded Centre for Research Excellence in the Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood, Rebecca was appointed as a lecturer within the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences.
Her research focuses on what and how young children are fed. She has a focus on improving the measurement of dietary intake and other health behaviours in early childhood, and the promotion of responsive feeding practices which support children’s autonomy, development of healthy food preferences and optimal growth. Rebecca works with researchers across the disciplines of nutrition, physical activity, nursing, psychology and education and has successful partnerships with organisations such as Playgroup QLD, Children’s Health Queensland and C&K. She is a founding member of Australia’s National Nutrition Network: Early Childhood Education and Care and was a member of the Federal Government’s expert working group for the revision of Australia’s National Breastfeeding Strategy, released in 2019.
Personal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences- Kelvin Grove Q Block Membership
Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation (IHBI),
IHBI Health Projects - Kelvin Grove Q Block Membership
Keywords
Feeding practices, Infant feeding, Complementary feeding, Breastfeeding, Dietary intake
Discipline
Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health and Health Services
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
Professional memberships and associations
Dietitian's Australia
International Society of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) and ISBNPA Early Childhood Education special interest group
Associate Editor: International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity
Executive Member: National Nutrition Network - Early Childhood Education and Care
Teaching
Rebecca is currently unit coordinator for the medical nutrition therapy and counseling units in the third year of the Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Hons). She has coordinated and tutored across all year levels of the BND and BNSc including Nutrition Science, Dietetic Leadership and Management, and Food & Nutrition.
Selected publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Rebecca, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Selected research projects
- Title
- Effectiveness of an Early Childhood Intervention to Promote Healthy Child Development and Prevent Chronic Disease in Families Attending Community Playgroups: A Multi-Centre Cluster Randomised Trial
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- MRF1200764
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- early childhood; exercise; nutrition; parenting; intervention
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- FEEDING SIBLINGS: AN EXPLORATORY, MIXED-METHODS STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN PARENTS AND CHILDREN AGED 1 TO 5 YEARS
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Melanie White - Obesity-Related Behaviors In Pre-School Children From Rural Brazil: Influence Of Parents
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Adjunct Professor Stewart Trost - What responsibility do Australian adolescents have over their total dietary intake
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Vidgen - Exploring fathers' food parenting, feeding roles and experiences in the context of disadvantage
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Kimberley Baxter, Professor Danielle Gallegos, Dr Smita Nambiar-Mann - The development, validation and assessment of a food literacy questionnaire (IFLQ-19)
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Vidgen
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Effects of a Prebiotic Supplement on Child Behaviour and Parental Quality of Life in Autism Spectrum Disorder. (2022)
- Development and Evaluation of an Intervention Targeting Parenting Practices Associated with Obesity-Related Behaviours in Young Children Attending Playgroup (2020)
- The family food environment and its relationship with eating behaviours in early childhood (2.0 ¿ 5.0 years) and the implications for obesity development (2019)