Dr. Aliza Stark is a lecturer in the School of Nutritional Sciences and has been teaching in the program for Dietitians for over thirty years. She is an expert in Food Science and Food Preparation with an emphasis on improving the nutritional and therapeutic value of foods. Her current research projects focus on nutrition education and health promotion to improve dietary habits in Israel. She is currently working on increasing legume consumption- using dietitians as agents for change (with Dr. Yael Bar-Zeev and PhD candidate, Orit Ofir) and maintaining the traditional Arab diet in youth (with Prof. Liora Gvion and PhD candidate, Raghda Barakat). Dr. Stark serves as Director of Academics for the International MSc. Nutrition Program in English. Her recent research collaborations in Africa include developing sustainable options for weaning foods for infants (Nigeria) replacing white maize with yellow (carotenoid-rich) maize (Malawi) and investigating metabolic diseases (Uganda). Her work has produced over 65 peer-reviewed publications and 9 book chapters.
Date of Birth: September 14, 1961, New Jersey, USA.
| 1990 – 1995 |
Ph.D. Nutritional Biochemistry |
| 1987 – 1990 |
M.Sc. Biochemistry and Human Nutrition |
| 1985 – 1986 |
R.D. Intership at Asaf HaRofeh Medical Center, Tsrifin, Israel
|
| 1983 – 1985 |
B.Sc. Nutrition
|
| 2004–present |
Senior Tenured Faculty |
| 2–7/2008 |
Visiting Associate Professor of Community Health |
| 2001 – 2004 |
Lecturer in the School of Nutritional Sciences |
| 1997 – 2001 |
Instructor/Research Associate
|
| 1995 – 1997 |
Post Doctoral Research Fellow |
Courses taught (in both English and Hebrew)
Human Nutrition, Food Science, Seminar in Nutritional Sciences (graduate and undergraduate), Food Preparation, Programs in Nutrition Education (70 students doing community work)
Presently academic advisor to 4 graduate students in the M.Sc. program in Nutrition.
Society of Nutrition Education:
Co–Chair– Division of International Nutrition Education 08–09
Co–Chair Elect– Division of International Nutrition Education 07–08
Communications Officer – Division of International Nutrition Education 06–07
School of Nutritional Sciences:
Academic Advisory Committee /Curriculum Committee 2003– 2008
Faculty Council
Elected voting representative 2004 – 2008
Israeli Ministry of Health:
Appointed to the professional advisory committee to reconstruct the
"Israeli Food Guide Pyramid" 2005
Appointed to the advisory committee to the Minister of Health on:
Licensing requirements for dietitians in Israel, 2008
Israeli Ministry of Social Services:
Appointed to the professional advisory committee for: The National Free Lunch Program 2004
Unilever Israel:
Expert Panel on Dietary Fibers “Dietary Fibers and Diabetes” 2003
External Studies Department– The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
International Course for Food Technologists: Lecturer on “Functional Foods” 2002 – 2007
Academic Consultant and Lecturer–
Course for Professional Chefs on “Nutrition and Advances in Food Technology” 2005
Master Chef 2007–08
International M.Sc. Program in Nutrition– One year program in English
Assistant Academic Director and lecturer 2005–06
Co–Chair Academic Studies for the 2007–08 Program
Israeli Ministry of Education:
Academic consultant for the Tavlan experimental kindergarten (Ramat Gan, Israel)
Nutrition Education in children aged 4–6. 2006 – 2009
| Professional Memberships: |
Atid– Israeli Dietetics Association Society of Nutrition Education (SNE) |
Scientific Reviewer for: the Israeli Ministry of Health; the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition; the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology &. Metabolism; Physiological Genomics;
Elsevier Science; the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior; Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, Nutrition.
Ben-Yacov, L., Ainembabazi, P., Stark, A.H. Is it time to update Body Mass Index (BMI) standards in the elderly or embrace measurements of body composition? Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 2017;71:1029-1032. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2017.39.
Rachman-Elbaum, S., Stark, A.H., Kachal, J., Johnson, T., Porat-Katz, B.S. Online training introduces a novel approach to the Dietetic Care Process Nutr. Diet. 2017;74:365-371.
Iron-Segev, S., Lusweti, J.N., Kamau-Mbuthia, E, Stark, A.H. Impact of community based nutrition education on geophagic behavior and dietary knowledge and practices among rural women in Nakuru Town, Kenya: A pilot study. J. Nutr. Educ. Behav. 2018;50:408-414.
Hasson, R., Stark, A.H., Constantini, N., Polak, R., Verbov, G., Edelstein, N., Lachmi, M., Cohen, R., Maoz, S., Daoud, N., Soltz-Aharony, H., Stein-Zamir, C."Practice What You Teach" Public Health Nurses Promoting Healthy Lifestyles (PHeeL-PHiNe): program evaluation. J. Ambul. Care Manage. 2018;41:171-180.
Berkovich, B.E., Stark, A.H., Eliakim A., Nemet, D., Sinai, T. Rapid weight loss in competitive judo and taekwondo athletes: Attitudes and practices of coaches and trainers. Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 2019 Apr 11:1-7. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0367.
Ben-Yacov, L. Ainembabazi, P., Stark, A.H., Kizito, S., Bahendeka, S. Prevalence and sex-specific patterns of metabolic syndrome in rural Uganda. BMJ Nutr. Prev. 2020;3:11-17. doi: 10.1136/bmjnph-2019-000050.
Adetola, O., Onabanjo, O., Stark, A.H. The search for sustainable solutions: Developing complementary foods rich in Vitamin A, zinc and iron for infants in developing countries. Scientific African 2020. Published Open Access doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00363
Sinai, T., Bromberg, M., Axelrod, R., Shimony, T., Goldsmith, R., Stark, A.H., Keinan-Boker, L. Menarche at an earlier age: Results from two national surveys of Israeli youth, 2003 and 2016. J. Pediatr. Adolesc. Gynecol. 2020;33:459-465.
Stark, A.H., Madar, Z. 2021 Olive oil in the prevention of breast and colon carcinogenesis. In: Olives And Olive Oil In Health And Disease Prevention 2nd Edition. (Eds. V.R. Preedy & R.R, Watson) Elsevier Publishers. pp. 337-345.
Dror, C., Stark, A.H., Dichtiar, R., Keinan-Boker, L, Shimony, T., Sinai, T. Milk and dairy consumption is positively associated with height in adolescents: results from the Israeli National Youth Health and Nutrition Survey Eur. J. Nutr. 2022;61:429-438.
Maingi, M., Stark, A.H., Iron-Segev, S. The impact of Option B+ on nutrition and health status of HIV exposed infants: A systematic review. Trop. Med. Int. Health. 2022: Apr 28. doi: 10.1111/tmi.13756. Online ahead of print.
Dror, C., Stark, A.H., Dichtiar, R., Keinan-Boker, L, Sinai, T. Non-dairy animal protein consumption is positively associated with overweight and obesity in adolescents. Foods 2022 Jul 12;11(14):2072.
Katola, A., Katundu, M., Ndolo, V., Tembo, D., Stark, A.H. Successful reintroduction of landrace orange maize in rural Malawi is not related to the nutritional knowledge of women in farming families. Afr. J. Food Agric. Nutr. Dev. 2022;22:21454-21475