Bio

Solmaz Setayeshgar is a finishing PhD student studying nutritional epidemiology under the co-supervision of Drs. Hassan Vatanparast and Susan Whiting. She came to the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition from Iran with a strong academic background in nutrition science. Her dissertation examines the socio-demographic and nutritional determinants of chronic diseases and risk factors. She has worked with large, complex health survey data including the Canadian Health Measures Survey and Canadian Community Health Survey.

Since 2010, Solmaz has presented close to a dozen posters in national and international conferences. In 2013, her abstract Is dietary intake associated with abdominal obesity in Canadian adults and adolescents? was selected for oral presentation at the Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Meeting in Quebec City. She has already published two peer-reviewed journal articles from her PhD research, with a third under review.  

During her PhD, Solmaz also lectured and taught in nutrition courses and mentored both undergraduates and graduate students in statistical approaches and data analysis. In addition to her own research, she was also actively involved in other nutrition-focused research projects as a project manager (Healthy immigrant children), statistical consultant (Milk choices and nutritional health of school-age children), and coordinator of a health promotion initiative (Linking immigrants with nutrition knowledge).

Solmaz defends her PhD thesis this fall. She has accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health in nutritional epidemiology where she will conduct research on cardiovascular risks in children.

Publications

  • Setayeshgar Solmaz, Whiting Susan, Vatanparast Hassan (2014). A novel approach in predicting the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease among Canadians and its association with dietary intake. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 39(5): 605-642. 10.1139/apnm-2014-0085
  • Setayeshgar Solmaz, Whiting Susan, Vatanparast Hassan (2013). Prevalence of 10-year risk of cardiovascular diseases and associated risks in Canadian adults; the contribution of cardiometabolic risk assessment introduction. International Journal of Hypertension Vol 2013, Article ID 276564, 8 pages.
  • Setayeshgar Solmaz, Whiting Susan, Vatanparast Hassan (2013). Is dietary intake associated with abdominal obesity in Canadian adults and adolescents? Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 38(4): 433-476. 10.1139/apnm-2013-0099
  • Setayeshgar Solmaz, Whiting Susan, Vatanparast Hassan (2013). Metabolic Syndrome in Canadian Adults and Adolescents: Prevalence and Associated Dietary Intake. Published in ISRN Obesity Vol. 2012, Article ID 816846, 8 pages.
  • Setayeshgar Solmaz, Whiting Susan, Vatanparast Hassan (2012). Abdominal obesity and high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with the risk of elevated atherogenic plasma lipids among Canadian women. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 37(3): 557-598. 10.1139/h2012-046
  • Rashidkhani Bahram, Rezazadeh Arezoo, Omidvar Nasrin, Houshiar rad Anahita, Setayeshgar Zohreh (2008). Relationships of major dietary patterns and their association with socioeconomic and demographic factors in 20-50 year- old women in the north of Tehran. Journal of Nutrition Sciences & Food Technology 3 (2): 1-12.
  • Setayeshgar Zohreh, Omidvar Nasrin, Alavi Majd Hamid, Rezazadeh Arezoo (2008). The impact of family behavior on the consumption of fruits and vegetables among female adolescents in Tehran. Journal of Population Association of Iran 2 (4): 152-172.