Maryse Umugwaneza recently obtained her PhD degree from North-West University, South Africa thanks to the funding of NICHE project.
Maryse during her graduation
In her thesis, the development of food based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) for 6 to 23 months old Rwandan children, Maryse offers a solution to address stunting, a nutrition-related public health problem in Rwanda. Although exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is common and routinely practiced, complementary feeding practices are inadequate in Rwanda. This could explain the high prevalence of stunting seen among children in this age group. Maryse developed a set of FBDGs, as a nutrition education tool which could complement other interventions to address sub-optimal complementary feeding practices in Rwanda.
Prior to her PhD studies, she worked as an assistant lecturer at the University of Rwanda. She completed her diploma in food science in 2006 at Lycée Beaulieu-Lavacant in France. She then continued to obtain an engineering degree in food industries and an MSc biology and health at Montpellier SupAgro, France in 2009.
Maryse chatting with a senior academic during graduation
Connect with Maryse at maryse.umugwaneza@gmail.com
Published by UR Communication Department