Dr Lem Ngongalah

Research Associate Newcastle University

Lem is a Research Associate at the Population Health Science Institute at Newcastle University. Her background is in Public health and Nutrition. Her areas of research include maternal and child nutrition, migrant health, perinatal mental health and health inequalities. Over the last five years, she has conducted and published research on maternal and child obesity, infant feeding practices and behavioural determinants of maternal weight status including dietary and physical activity behaviours.

Lem is passionate about the role of migration on the health and reproductive outcomes of migrant women living in high income countries, and the implications of maternal weight status on child health. Her PhD focused on weight perceptions of African migrant women living in the UK and explored pre-and post-migration influences on their weight management behaviours during pregnancy. She has recently been awarded a Faculty Fellowship at Newcastle University to support her work towards developing a culturally inclusive dietary intervention for African women during pregnancy, and co-developing recommendations for more tailored dietary support for these women.