Prof. Ayesha Al Dhaheri

Emirates Nutrition Association

Professor Ayesha Al Dhaheri is a Professor of Clinical Nutrition at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and Advisor to the Vice Chancellor’s Office, with over 26 years of academic, research, and leadership experience. She has held senior roles including Associate Provost for Student Affairs, Vice Dean, and Chair of the Nutrition and Health Department, where she led major curriculum reforms and international accreditations, and contributed to a 23% increase in student enrollment during her tenure in university leadership.

She is President of the Emirates Nutrition Association, Coordinator for MEFOODS and GULFOODS with FAO-Rome, and formerly Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre in Nutrition, where she advanced regional capacity building and nutrition policy initiatives. Recognized as a WHO Regional Facilitator since 2007, she has played a key role in disseminating growth standards and promoting prevention of nutrition-related diseases across the Eastern Mediterranean.

Professor Al Dhaheri has published over 135 peer-reviewed articles, with an h-index of 30 and more than 3,200 citations, focusing on diabetes prevention, glycaemic index, maternal and child nutrition, and metabolic syndrome. She has secured substantial competitive funding, supervised PhD and MSc students, and received multiple awards for publishing in top-tier journals, including UAEU’s Associate Provost of Research Award over several consecutive years.