Pre-Conference Workshops
Tuesday 1 December 2026 | Melbourne
Explore the workshop program
Join us ahead of the 50th NSA Annual Scientific Meeting for a diverse program of interactive workshops spanning food systems, school nutrition, exercise nutrition, nutrition epidemiology, culinary nutrition, food policy, nutrition education, First Nations health, student mentoring and food science.
Parkville Campus
Morning Workshops
Select one morning workshop. School Nutrition 1 & 2 is offered as one combined selectable session from 10:00am to 1:00pm.
10:00am – 1:00pm
School Nutrition 1 & 2
Two-part School Nutrition Workshop
One selectable session
School Nutrition 1 & 2
Two-part School Nutrition Workshop
One selectable sessionFishbowl conversation: Nutritional, social and environmental drivers of school-provided meal programs
Presenters: Brittany Johnson, Flinders University; Mavra Ahmed, The University of Melbourne; Elena Coulls, Flinders University
What should a national school-provided meal program in Australia look like? Drawing on the latest research and practice insights from Australia and Canada, including children's perspectives and pilot program evaluations, this interactive fishbowl discussion invites panellists and participants to weigh up the nutritional, social and environmental factors and co-develop recommendations for future programs.
What are our kids really eating? How to overcome the challenges of measuring nutrition in cohort studies
Presenters: Poonam Pannu, The Kids Research Institute Australia; Sherly Li, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Led by two of Australia's leading longitudinal birth cohorts, ORIGINS and Generation Victoria, this interactive workshop shares case studies and lessons learnt on the challenges and latest methods for measuring child nutrition, and how cohort data can inform policy, practice and interventions. Participants will help identify priority evidence gaps and intervention opportunities in the early primary school years and gain confidence to use longitudinal nutrition data in their own research.
11:00am – 1:00pm
Food Systems
Positioning Nutritionists as Leaders in Transforming Australia’s
Food System
Food Systems
Positioning Nutritionists as Leaders in Transforming Australia’s Food System
An interactive workshop exploring how nutrition professionals can lead and partner in transforming Australia's food system to be healthier, more sustainable and more equitable, drawing on examples from WA, Victoria and NSW. Participants will map a nutrition challenge from their own context and leave with practical tools and strategies to drive collaborative food systems change.
11:00am – 1:00pm
Exercise Nutrition
The impact of exercise on the gastrointestinal tract:
Nutritional Implications
Exercise Nutrition
The impact of exercise on the gastrointestinal tract: Nutritional Implications
An interactive workshop for nutrition scientists and athlete support practitioners on the causes, assessment and evidence-based nutrition management of exercise-induced gastrointestinal symptoms. Participants will build their understanding of GI symptoms during and after exercise and how to research, assess and manage them.
11:00am – 1:00pm
Nutrition Epidemiology
Strengthening Causal Inference in Nutritional Epidemiology:
The Role of Target Trial Emulation
Nutrition Epidemiology
Strengthening Causal Inference in Nutritional Epidemiology: The Role of Target Trial Emulation
An interactive workshop introducing target trial emulation as a practical framework for drawing stronger causal conclusions from observational nutrition data, with DAGs and g-methods as supporting tools. Working in small groups on real scenarios, including ultra-processed food and cardiovascular disease, participants will learn to specify a target trial, identify common biases and critically evaluate causal claims in nutrition research.
11:00am – 1:00pm
Culinary Nutrition
Culinary Education and Interventions for Nutrition Research,
Teaching and Practice
Culinary Nutrition
Culinary Education and Interventions for Nutrition Research, Teaching and Practice
An interactive workshop exploring how culinary education, including culinary medicine and Teaching Kitchens, can bring nutrition science to life in research, teaching and practice. Through a simulated cooking demonstration, tasting plates, sensory evaluation and small-group discussion, participants will learn to design effective face-to-face or online culinary programs for their own setting.
Afternoon Workshops
Select one afternoon workshop. Nutrition Education 1 & 2 is offered as one combined selectable session from 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Food Policy
AI and the Future of Food Environments and Policy:
From Big Data to Action
Food Policy
AI and the Future of Food Environments and Policy: From Big Data to Action
An interactive workshop exploring how AI is transforming food-environment and food-policy research, featuring case studies from Professor Mary L'Abbé on the FLIP food label database and Professor Kathryn Backholer on AI monitoring of digital food marketing. In a facilitated AI Futures Lab, participants will weigh up the opportunities, risks and safeguards of AI in nutrition and co-develop priority recommendations.
2:00pm – 4:00pm
First Nations Health
Connecting with Country - our film, our story
First Nations Health
Connecting with Country - our film, our story
A screening of a 20-minute documentary filmed on Country in the Kimberley with Djarindjin Community as part of the Connecting to Country for Healthy Eating project, followed by a yarning session with John Jacky, Vincent McKenzie and filmmaker Shannon Owen. Participants will gain insights into working respectfully with remote Aboriginal communities and building meaningful, community-led research through storytelling and two-way knowledge exchange.
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Student Mentoring
Unmasking Imposter Syndrome:
Building Belonging, Confidence and Resilience
Student Mentoring
Unmasking Imposter Syndrome: Building Belonging, Confidence and Resilience
Hosted by the NSA Student Mentoring Committee, this interactive workshop for students and early career researchers combines speakers' career stories with small-group activities that explore how imposter syndrome affects confidence and career progression. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for recognising self-doubt, building resilience and seeking support.
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Food Science
Beyond Nutrients: How Food Structure Shapes Sensory
Perception and Digestion?
Food Science
Beyond Nutrients: How Food Structure Shapes Sensory Perception and Digestion?
Why can two foods with identical nutrient panels behave so differently once eaten? This interactive workshop traces how processing shapes food structure, texture, sensory experience and digestion, with participants working as "food structure detectives" to interpret real-world data and recognise when structure, not just composition, matters in their own research.
2:00pm – 5:00pm
Nutrition Education 1 & 2
Two-part Nutrition Education Workshop
One selectable session
Nutrition Education 1 & 2
Two-part Nutrition Education Workshop
One selectable sessionFrom hidden curriculum to intentional design: Mapping food literacy in nutrition education courses
Presenters: Rebecca Russell, Curtin University; Emma Beckett, Australian Catholic University; Katya Clark, Curtin University
Hosted by SIGNETT and facilitated by Dr Rebecca Russell and Dr Emma Beckett, this interactive workshop helps nutrition and dietetics educators map where food literacy skills are taught, practised and assessed across their curriculum. Through guided reflection and hands-on mapping, participants will identify strengths and gaps and leave with a food literacy skills map and action plan for clearer scaffolding.
From Framework to Action - advancing planetary health education in nutrition and dietetics by implementing the NURTURE framework
Presenters: Liza Barbour, Zoe Davidson & Janeane Dart, Monash University
This interactive workshop introduces the NURTURE Curriculum Framework, an internationally co-developed and Indigenous-informed framework to help educators embed sustainable food systems and planetary health in nutrition and dietetics training. Through card-based curriculum mapping, a quiz and global best-practice examples, participants will identify gaps in their own teaching and leave with an action plan to strengthen their curricula.
Add a workshop to your registration
Already registered for NSA ASM 2026? Log in to your Currinda profile to add your preferred workshop to your existing registration.
Before you attend
- Workshop places are limited, so please register early.
- No catering will be provided before, during or after the workshops. Please bring your own drink bottle.
- A lunch break will be held from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. A list of recommended nearby cafés and food outlets will be provided.
- Room details are subject to change. Final room locations and directions will be communicated with workshop participants in the week prior.
- The workshop rooms are approximately a five-minute walk from the venue for the Opening Public Lecture, commencing at 5:15pm.