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Miss Natsuki Kawai

Res - LSHTM-Nagasaki University Joint PhD Programme for Global Health - Epidemiology & Population Health

United Kingdom

Natsuki Kawai is a PhD candidate in the Nutrition Group at LSHTM and Nagasaki University. Her doctoral research is generously supported by the Japanese government MEXT WISE Program and a Rotary Foundation Global Grant.

 

Based in London, Natsuki's research focuses on public health nutrition, with a particular emphasis on designing and evaluating sustainable, community-based interventions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Her current doctoral work investigates the nutritional and socio-economic impacts of integrated school-based interventions—specifically combining Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) using local traditional foods with food education ("Shokuiku")—to address the double burden of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in Senegal, West Africa.

 

She has a strong background in bridging macro-level health policy analysis with on-the-ground public health actions. As a nutrition expert, she has collaborated with international organizations such as UNICEF, contributing to the development of regional operational guidance on subnational mapping for child anemia prevention and analyzing the cost-effectiveness of Vitamin A supplementation programs in West and Central Africa. Prior to this, she worked with a Japanese NGO in Cambodia, where she successfully led pilot interventions integrating hospital meal provisions with local nutrition education.

 

Affiliations

Department of Population Health
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health

Research

My research interests lie at the intersection of nutritional epidemiology, spatial analysis, and operational research to improve maternal and child health outcomes in resource-limited settings. Specific areas of interest include:

  • Public Health Nutrition in LMICs: Developing and evaluating targeted interventions for child nutrition and maternal health.
  • Micronutrient Deficiencies: Specifically focusing on the epidemiology, prevention, and control of anemia in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Spatial Analysis & Subnational Mapping: Utilizing geographic data to identify vulnerable populations and optimize the allocation of health resources.
  • Operational & Implementation Research: Translating evidence into actionable policies and practical guidelines for international agencies and local governments.
  • Global Health Policy: Understanding the broader systemic factors that influence nutrition security in West and Central Africa.
Research Area
Nutrition
Country
United Kingdom
Japan
Senegal
Cambodia
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