About

Lamis Jomaa, PhD, is a community nutritionist and food security scholar at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Nutrition. She has over 14 years of teaching and research experience in the US and the Middle East. Her work focuses on addressing food and nutrition security, designing evidence-based community nutrition interventions aimed at reducing health disparities and improving overall nutrition and health outcomes. Dr. Jomaa employs mixed methods research approaches to evaluate the burden and determinants of food and nutrition insecurity among vulnerable groups including women, children, refugees, displaced individuals, and underrepresented communities both in the US and globally. Her research interests include the interlinkages between food security, child and adolescent nutrition, refugee health, and sustainable diets. She evaluates the effectiveness of community-based interventions and explores the intersection of conflict, displacement, and nutrition, particularly among refugees and displaced populations in the Middle East and North Africa region. Dr. Jomaa has contributed to understanding infant and young child feeding practices, childhood and adolescent nutrition, and the impact of nutrition transition on dietary behaviors. Her recent work in the US involves assessing the role of campus and community food pantries in alleviating food insecurity and promoting healthy diets. She has a strong publication record, success in securing grants, and builds partnerships with multidisciplinary teams, governmental, non-governmental, and humanitarian organizations worldwide.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Environmental health
• Psychology
• Medicine
• Chemistry
• Food science
• Demography
• Development economics
• Ecology
• Statistics
• Geography
• Biology
• Mathematics
• Socioeconomics
• Economics

Selected publications

• Food Insecurity Pre- and Post the COVID-19 Pandemic and Economic Crisis in Lebanon: Prevalence and Projections

  Nutrients · 2021 · 67 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Environmental health
  • Development economics

  < 0.05). These alarming findings call for emergency food security policies and evidence-based programs to mitigate the burden of multiple crises on the FI of Lebanese households and promote resilience for future shocks.

  DOI

• Energy drinks consumption and perceptions among University Students in Beirut, Lebanon: A mixed methods approach

  PLoS ONE · 2020 · 46 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Environmental health
  • Food science

  BACKGROUND: Energy drinks (ED) are caffeine- and sugar-rich beverages with other ingredients that are marketed for their energy-boosting and performance-enhancing effects. The consumption of these drinks, with and without alcohol, is dramatically increasing worldwide, despite the reported side effects and potential harms to consumers. Few studies, to date, have explored the perceptions and experiences of young adults towards these beverages. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to explore the consumption patterns and correlates of ED consumption, as well as the perceptions and experiences of university students in Lebanon towards these beverages. METHODS: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was adopted. Data collection was conducted in two private universities in Beirut, Lebanon. A self-administered 36-item quantitative survey was first used to explore the prevalence and correlates of ED consumption among a convenience sample of university students (n = 226). The survey included questions related to socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and other lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity of university students. The subsequent qualitative phase consisted of focus group discussions (FGD) conducted to further examine the perceptions and experiences of university students towards ED. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted using survey data, whereas the transcribed FGD were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: A total of 226 university students completed the survey. Results showed that 45% of survey respondents consumed ED at least once in their life (ever consumers), among which 30% reported consumption of ED mixed with alcohol (AmED). Adjusting for socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, coffee and sports drinks consumption were significantly associated with ED (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.20, 5.00, and OR = 4.88, 95%CI = 2.41, 9.88, respectively). In addition, physically active participants were 1.89 times (95%CI = 1.01, 3.51) more likely to consume ED compared to their inactive counterparts. During the qualitative phase, a total of six FGD were conducted with 29 university students, who reported consuming ED at least once per month. Three main themes were derived reflecting individual-, interpersonal/social- and environmental-level factors affecting ED consumption among university students. These themes were further supported by eight subthemes, including: perceived benefits of ED, experienced side effects, misinformation about content of ED, peer pressure and social image, as well as affordability and accessibility of ED. CONCLUSION: Findings highlight the need for public health policies and programs to curb the growing public health phenomenon of ED consumption amongst university students. Such programs should consider the multi-level factors affecting ED consumption at the individual, interpersonal/social, and environmental levels, including educational campaigns on ED potential harms, regulating ED content and labeling, as well as restricting sales and marketing of these beverages, especially among young consumers.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Nahla Hwalla

  American University of Beirut

  39 shared

• Farah Naja

  University of Sharjah

  38 shared

• Lara Nasreddine

  American University of Beirut

  34 shared

• Fatima Al Zahraa Chokor

  Qatar University

  19 shared

• Samer Kharroubi

  University of Sheffield

  17 shared

• Marwa Diab-El-Harake

  University of Sheffield

  16 shared

• Pascale Salameh

  12 shared

• Elaine McDonnell

  Pennsylvania State University

  10 shared

Education

• MS/PhD, Nutritional Sciences

  Pennsylvania State University

  2010

Awards & honors

• Provost Awards (Seven Gillings faculty earn Provost Awards)
• Fellow at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Preven…
• Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fell…
• American Society of Nutrition (member, but not an award)
• Fulbright Association (member, but not an award)

Similar researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Barry M. Popkinh-170
• Cynthia Bulikh-134
• Doug Perkinsh-115
• Paul Watkinsh-107
• Linda Adairh-106