Mary Chong

Dr Chong’s main research is on Maternal and Child Nutrition. Trained as a clinical dietitian, she attained her PhD at the University of Oxford, U.K. and is currently Assistant Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. She is also Principal Investigator at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR.

She is the Nutrition Lead for the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study, a mother-offspring cohort study in Singapore and is involved in two pre-conception studies, SPRESTO and NiPPeR.

Dr Chong has a special interest in diet and lifestyle behaviours and has been researching in this area with web-based technologies in children and adults. Her current work includes investigating behavioural determinants of health in children, from which her team has developed a web-based, time-use application (MEDAL) to assess diet and lifestyle in school children.

She has been invited to speak at national and international conferences and has published over 140 papers in peer-reviewed journals. She is currently a member of the Advisory Panel on Parenting for the Ministry of Social and Family development and a committee member for the Physical Education Syllabus Review and Development, Ministry of Education.

Affiliation

• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (Primary)
• Principal Investigator at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), A*STAR (Joint)

Research Areas

• Maternal and child nutrition
• Nutrition and non-communicable diseases
• Weight loss diet interventions
• Eating behavior in adults and infants

Teaching Areas

• Nutrition and Health – Fundamentals and Applications
• Maternal and Child nutrition
• Diet and non-communicable diseases

Academic/Professional Qualifications

• PhD, University of Oxford, U.K.
• BSc (Hons) Dietetics, Leeds Metropolitan University, U.K.

Awards/Honours

• The Nutrition Society Silver Medal Award for Scientific Excellence in the Field of Nutrition (International award), Oct 2019
• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health Teaching Excellence Award 2018/2019
• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health Faculty Young Researcher Award 2018/2019, Apr 2019
• Newtrition Asia Research Grant Award by BASF, Oct 2018
• New Investigator Award by the International Conference on Developmental Origins of Adiposity and Long-term Health, Oct 2016

Career History

• Principal Investigator, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, 2015-present
• Research Scientist, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, 2012-2015
• Senior Research Fellow, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, 2010-2012
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Hugh Sinclair Nutrition Unit, Food Biosciences Department, University of Reading, U.K., 2007-2010
• Research Dietitian, University of Oxford, U.K., in conjunction with PhD studies, 2003-2007
• Clinical Dietitian, Alexandra Hospital, Singapore, 2001-2003

Selected Publications

• Chong, M. F. F., Godfrey, K. M., Gluckman, P., Tan, K. H., Shek, L. P. C., Meaney, M., . . . Chong, Y. S. (2020). Influences of the perinatal diet on maternal and child health: Insights from the GUSTO study. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. doi:1017/S0029665119001526
• Fries, L. R., Chan, M. J., Quah, P. L., Toh, J. Y., Fogel, A., Goh, A. T., . . . Chong, M. F. F. (2019). Maternal feeding practices and children’s food intake during an ad libitum buffet meal: Results from the GUSTO cohort. APPETITE, 142, 9 pages. doi:1016/j.appet.2019.104371
• Quah, P. L., Kleijweg, J., Chang, Y. Y., Toh, J. Y., Lim, H. X., Sugianto, R., . . . Chong, M. F. F. (2019). Association of sugar-sweetened beverage intake at 18 months and 5 years of age with adiposity outcomes at 6 years of age: the Singapore GUSTO mother-offspring cohort. BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION, 122 (11), 1303-1312. doi: 1017/S0007114519002253
• Lai, J. S., Cai, S., Feng, L., Shek, L. P., Yap, F., Tan, K. H., . . . Chong, M. F. F. (2019). Associations of maternal zinc and magnesium with offspring learning abilities and cognitive development at 4 years in GUSTO. NUTRITIONAL NEUROSCIENCE, 10 pages. doi:1080/1028415X.2019.1643624
• Chia, A. -R., Chen, L. -W., Lai, J. S., Wong, C. H., Neelakantan, N., van Dam, R. M., & Chong, M. F. -F. (2019). Maternal Dietary Patterns and Birth Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. ADVANCES IN NUTRITION, 10 (4), 685-695. doi:1093/advances/nmy123
• van Lee, L., Crozier, S. R., Aris, I. M., Tint, M. T., Sadananthan, S. A., Michael, N., . . . Chong, M. F. F. (2019). Prospective associations of maternal choline status with offspring body composition in the first 5 years of life in two large mother-offspring cohorts: the Southampton Women’s Survey cohort and the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes cohort. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, 48 (2), 433-444. doi:1093/ije/dyy291
• Chia, A. -R., Tint, M. -T., Han, C. Y., Chen, L. -W., Colega, M., Aris, I. M., . . . Chong, M. F. -F. (2018). Adherence to a healthy eating index for pregnant women is associated with lower neonatal adiposity in a multiethnic Asian cohort: the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) Study. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION, 107(1), 71-79. doi:1093/ajcn/nqx003
• van Lee, L., Cai, S., Loy, S. L., Tham, E. K. H., Yap, F. K. P., Godfrey, K. M., . . . Chong, M. F. F. (2018). Relation of plasma tryptophan concentrations during pregnancy to maternal sleep and mental well-being: The GUSTO cohort. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS, 225, 523-529. doi:1016/j.jad.2017.08.069