Niyati Parekh
Niyati Parekh is a nutritional epidemiologist who researches diet in relation with chronic diseases. She has made important contributions to the relationships of vitamin D to eye health among older adults, as well as in the area of obesity and prostate cancer, for which she has received awards. Dr. Parekh seeks to investigate the impact of obesity and metabolic syndrome on health. She is also interested in international health and issues related to immigrant populations in the US. In the past decade, Dr. Parekh has led numerous community outreach activities related to maternal and child health, and nutrition in disease prevention, in urban and rural settings in India and the US. She has also authored several popular press articles to communicate the intricacies of nutrition and health to lay persons. Dr. Parekh received her MS in Foods, Nutrition, and Clinical Dietetics in 1997, and is a credentialed Registered Dietitian from India. In 2005, she received a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Population Health, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has had 2 years of postdoctoral experience at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Cancer Institute of New Jersey, where she studied lifestyle and obesity in relation with cancer.