Melissa Benavente
Academic and research departments
Maternal, Child and Family Health Expert Group, School of Health Sciences.About
My research project
Nutritional, economic, and environmental impacts on anaemia in Indian children from birth to age 18 yearsAnaemia is a major public health concern in developing countries; primarily affecting young children, adolescent females, and pregnant women. Anaemia in childhood and adolescence can affect physical growth and cognitive function, with likely further impacts on reproductive health in women. While many of the causes of anaemia are treatable, especially iron-deficiency which is the commonest cause, in India the anaemia prevention and control programmes have been unable to reduce its prevalence. The reasons for this are unclear, but are likely to involve many health, environmental and sociological aspects. Data-science approaches offer a new opportunity to explore this further, with the potential to reveal previously unrecognised patterns of anaemia over time.
The Pune Maternal Nutrition Study (PMNS) has recruited 800 pregnant women, across six villages around Pune city, Maharashtra, India. Over 650 children born to these women were also recruited, tracked from birth, and followed-up at 6, 12 and 18 years. This PhD will analyse data collected as part of the PMNS. The team will apply methods in epidemiology as well as methods in AI and machine learning, to these data to investigate nutritional, economic, and environmental impacts on anaemia, and both physical and cognitive development in Indian children.
The main objectives of this PhD are:
- Identify nutritional, economic, and environmental impacts on anaemia and development in children.
- Examine micronutrient trends (Iron, Folate and Vitamin B12) during pregnancy and childhood to assess and inform health programmes and policies.
- Apply machine learning and advanced analytics to identify population stratifiers and subgroups that can better direct patient management and improve outcomes.
Supervisors
Anaemia is a major public health concern in developing countries; primarily affecting young children, adolescent females, and pregnant women. Anaemia in childhood and adolescence can affect physical growth and cognitive function, with likely further impacts on reproductive health in women. While many of the causes of anaemia are treatable, especially iron-deficiency which is the commonest cause, in India the anaemia prevention and control programmes have been unable to reduce its prevalence. The reasons for this are unclear, but are likely to involve many health, environmental and sociological aspects. Data-science approaches offer a new opportunity to explore this further, with the potential to reveal previously unrecognised patterns of anaemia over time.
The Pune Maternal Nutrition Study (PMNS) has recruited 800 pregnant women, across six villages around Pune city, Maharashtra, India. Over 650 children born to these women were also recruited, tracked from birth, and followed-up at 6, 12 and 18 years. This PhD will analyse data collected as part of the PMNS. The team will apply methods in epidemiology as well as methods in AI and machine learning, to these data to investigate nutritional, economic, and environmental impacts on anaemia, and both physical and cognitive development in Indian children.
The main objectives of this PhD are:
- Identify nutritional, economic, and environmental impacts on anaemia and development in children.
- Examine micronutrient trends (Iron, Folate and Vitamin B12) during pregnancy and childhood to assess and inform health programmes and policies.
- Apply machine learning and advanced analytics to identify population stratifiers and subgroups that can better direct patient management and improve outcomes.