Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted
Senior Nutrition Scientist, WorldFish
Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted is presently senior nutrition scientist at WorldFish. She represents WorldFish in the CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) and contributes to the CRPs on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) and Livestock and Fisheries (L&F). Her broad area of research and expertise is food-based strategies for improved food and nutrition security in low-income countries. She has carried out work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, West Bengal and Nepal, together with government institutions, universities and NGOs, focusing on the potential of nutrient-rich small fish in combating and preventing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, in particular, vitamin A, iron, zinc and calcium, especially in women and children. She has an intensive global, regional and national network of research partners and collaborators in the area of agriculture - nutrition linkages and is actively engaged in setting the global agenda for nutrition-sensitive aquatic agricultural systems. She is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee, the IMCF Project (Improving the dietary intake and nutritional status of infants and young children through improved food security and complementary feeding counselling), implemented by the Nutrition Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in collaboration with the Institute of Nutritional Sciences, Justus Liebig University (JLU) Giessen, Germany; the Nutrition Innovation Laboratory, funded by Feed the Future, USAID; the HarvestPlus China Advisory Committee; and the Board of Directors of Aquaculture without Frontiers.