Dr Bob Stewart is a notable nutrition researcher. Since earning his PhD in 2014, Dr Stewart has been published in high quality international journals, presented at national and international scientific conferences and applied his knowledge to community health workshops across New Zealand.
Dr Bob Stewart is a notable nutrition researcher. Since earning his PhD in 2014, Dr Stewart has been published in high quality international journals, presented at national and international scientific conferences and applied his knowledge to community health workshops across New Zealand.
Before he shifted into his role as a nutrition scientist, Dr Stewart was trained as a chef and pâtissier. “I’ve always been really interested in food, but also a clean freak when it came to hygiene. The chemistry of food really interested me, so I took that further.”
Bob’s current research is focused on cellular iron uptake and dietary strategies – looking at how nutrients interact, and how those interactions affect uptake. However, Bob and his team are also involved in a variety of other projects. “The strength in my team is that we excel at conducting analysis, and that’s integral for a lot of research. We end up helping many other research projects, whether that’s hormone concentrations in salvia or statistical analysis for a food frequency questionnaire.
“I’ve found a lot of collaboration in UCOL - there’s real comradery, and interdisciplinary research is encouraged between teams and with outside organisations.”
When he’s not in the lab, Bob is an eager outdoorsman – enjoying surfing, mountain biking and adventure activities. He’s also getting proactive on his 4 ½ acre property in Masterton, where he’s planting native trees.