Jeffrey So

Biography

Dr Jeffrey So is a Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of the Sunshine Coast and an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and member of Dietitians Australia. He completed his PhD in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2024. Following his PhD, he held research roles at QUT and the University of Newcastle (2024–2025), contributing to projects focused on child nutrition, parenting, family wellbeing, and digital health interventions.

Jeffrey has over a decade of national and international experience across research, higher education, community nutrition, aged care, and disability sectors. He has taught undergraduate and postgraduate nutrition and public health courses at QUT and the University of Queensland (2023–2025), and has supervised Honours students on projects related to child feeding and food insecurity. His work is underpinned by a strong interest in childhood nutrition, family meals, health equity, and food security, with a focus on translating research into practice to support families and communities experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and structural inequities.

Research

Jeffrey’s research focuses on infant and child nutrition, responsive feeding practices, and father engagement in child growth, health and development. His PhD employed mixed-methods, including co-design methodologies to explore how fathers can be better engaged in nutrition and parenting support, particularly in contexts of socioeconomic disadvantage.

At the University of Newcastle, he evaluated national mHealth programs, SMS4dads and SMS4DeadlyDads, designed to support parenting, mental health, and child development among expectant and new fathers. At QUT, his research included the evaluation of the Eat Learn Grow trial promoting responsive feeding among families experiencing disadvantage, exploring child feeding practices among culturally and linguistically diverse families, and validating feeding practices questionnaires for disadvantaged populations.

He is also engaged in scholarship of learning and teaching, currently researching blended learning approaches in nutrition and dietetics to inform curriculum design and teaching practice at UniSc. Jeffrey has presented his work at the International Society of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity and the World Public Health Nutrition Congress, contributes to peer review for Nutrition & Dietetics, Appetite, and the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, and is a member of The Family Meals Collective.