Title: Factors associated with adolescent obesity in South Africa: empirical insights from a machine learning approach

Biography:

Dr Natisha Dukhi is a Senior Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa. She has spent over a decade working as a Medical Scientist, specializing in Human Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology and Nutrition at various universities in SA. Since 2009, she has been involved with community health and NGOs, and served as an online mentor for the Triune Uganda 2009 Global Project for Pharmacy and Social Science students from countries in Africa, America, Europe and Asia. In 2016, she graduated with a PhD in Public Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is an eclectic behavioral scientist, with various interdisciplinary research focuses. Her areas of expertise include Nutrition, Adolescent and Child Health, health promotion and non-communicable diseases, with special interest in mHealth, Artificial Intelligence, and gender-based violence.  Her scientific experience and collaborations have led to various interdisciplinary publications, book chapters and conference proceedings. She is a reviewer for various national and international journals. She is a South African Young Academy of Science member, African Academy of Sciences (AAS) Affiliate, exco for Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA) and OWSD SA National Chapter, Fellow and President of African ChangeMakers South Africa, Fellow of the Southern Africa and Africa Science Leadership Programmes, among others. In 2018, she was a BRICS Young Scientist awardee, and a recipient of the Gro Brundtland Award for outstanding work in the field of public health and development.