Dr Sarah Burkhart is an Associate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Health and Deputy Director (Research and Policy) for the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research (ACPIR) at UniSC. A/Prof Burkhart’s current work spans the South Pacific region where she leads and contributes to a range of projects to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture. A key focus of Sarah’s work is school food and nutrition environments in the South Pacific and the potential these have for transformational food system change, improved nutrition, health and educational outcomes, climate resilience and livelihoods.
Sarah’s current and recent projects focus on integrating local foods in Pacific Islands school food programs, nutrition education, food literacy and determinants of food choice. Sarah also has expertise in dietary assessment with current projects focusing on dietary assessment in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the development of a NOVA screener for ultra-processed food consumption across 7 Pacific countries.
Sarah is the President of the Federation of Oceanic Nutrition Societies (FONS) and a Registered Nutritionist with the Nutrition Society of Australia (NSA). She is a member of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB), where she was recently the Chair of the SNEB Sustainable Food Systems Division (23/24) and Division for International Nutrition Education (DINE) (22/23). Sarah is also a co-founder and current chair of the Pacific School Food Network (PSFN), a group that advocates for and supports school food activities throughout the Pacific Islands region to eliminate hunger and improve food security.
Sarah is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and coordinates and teaches two courses within the Bachelor of Nutrition, with a focus on improving the student experience and readiness for practice. Sarah’s scholarship of learning and teaching interests include the integration of a food systems approach and sustainability within Nutrition and Dietetic curricula. Sarah is also an advocate for involving students in overseas learning and research experiences and has travelled with, and supervised UniSC undergraduate students undertaking projects in Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tonga.
Awards and fellowships
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2022
- LearnX Live! Best Blended Learning Model Platinum Award Winner (with Dr Dana Craven and Dr Anita Hamilton), 2019
- Advance Teaching Award: ABLE Award for Advancing the Blended Learning Experience, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2016
- Commendation for Excellence: Advancing Quality Teaching, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2016
Professional memberships
- Nutrition Society of Australia
- Society for Nutrition Education and Behaviour
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research - Deputy Director (Research & Policy).
Social media
Research Grants
|
Project name |
Project team |
Funder, year |
|
Comprehensive mapping of dietary intakes and development of context-specific food-based dietary recommendations (Republic of the Marshall Islands). |
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart (lead), Prof Steven Underhill |
WorldBank (2025) |
|
Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in the Pacific update and research priorities. |
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart (lead), Prof Steven Underhill, Ms Bridget Horsey, Ms Jenna Perry, Ms Emily Mitchell, Ms Belinda Christensen. |
FAO (2024) |
|
Understanding School Food Provision in the Pacific: Scoping the potential of local food systems to improve diets, nutrition and livelihoods |
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart (co-lead), Dr Danny Hunter (co-lead) (The Alliance for Bioversity International and CIAT), Dr John Oakeshott (The Pacific Community) and Mrs Jessica Raneri (the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) |
ACIAR (2022 - 2023) $250,000 |
| Development of an Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in the Pacific Islands |
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart, Prof. Steven Underhill, Dr Dana Craven, Ms Bridget Horsey |
FAO (2022) |
|
Development of a school food and nutrition education learning and teaching resource kit for Pacific Island teachers and educators |
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart, Ms Bridget Horsey, Dr Dana Craven, Ms Jenna Perry |
FAO (2022) |
|
Enhanced fruit systems for Tonga and Samoa (Phase 2): Community based citrus production |
Prof Steven Underhill (CI), A/Prof John Chapman, A/Prof Sarah Burkhart, Dr Dana Craven, Ms Tara McKenzie, Dr Yuchan Zhou, and researchers from the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa, Mainstreaming of Rural Development Innovation, The University of Queensland, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Samoa, Fiji National University and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
ACIAR (2021 – 2024) |
|
Gathering evidence and supporting multi-stakeholder engagement on the role of diets and food systems in the prevention of obesity and non-communicable diseases in Pacific Island Countries (Fiji)
|
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart (lead), Prof Steven Underhill, Ms Bridget Horsey, Ms Jenna Perry, Ms Tarli O’Connell, Dr Yuchan Zhou, Ms Tara Mackenzie, Dr Dana Craven
|
UN/FAO (2020) |
|
School Food Programmes in the Pacific Islands: Scoping Study and Capacity Needs Assessment
|
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart (lead), Dr Dana Craven, Ms Brianna Jones, Ms Bridget Horsey, Prof Steven Underhill |
UN/FAO (2019) |
|
School Nutrition Education Programmes in the Pacific Islands: Scoping Study and Capacity Needs Assessment
|
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart (lead), Ms Brianna Jones, Dr Libby Swanepoel, Prof Steven Underhill |
UN/FAO (2018) |
|
Designing a graduate e-portfolio: the expectations of industry
|
Dr A Hamilton (lead), T Downer, Dr B Flanagan, A/Prof Sarah Burkhart, Dr A Villani, B Lucas, Dr A Henderson, Dr C Davis, M Small, and Dr J Taylor
|
USC Commissioned Grant (2016/2017) $15,000 |
|
Learning, Teaching, Practice: A common understanding and integration of sustainability within Nutrition and Dietetics
|
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart (lead), Dr Jude Maher, Dr Michele Verdonck and Dr Theresa Ashford |
USC Exploratory Grant (2015) $9996 |
Research areas
- Nutrition education and food provision
- Determinants of food security in the Pacific Islands
- Sustainable food systems
- Blended learning strategies to engage Nutrition and Dietetic students
Potential research projects for HDR and Honours students
• Nutrition education and food provision in Pacific Island school settings.
• Determinants of food security in the Pacific Islands, with a focus on food environments and consumer behaviour/food choice.
• Incorporation and teaching of sustainability and sustainable food systems in Nutrition and Dietetics curricula.
Current PhD students (primary supervisor)
• Ms Elodie Casey: Enhancing Children's Nutrition Through Understanding the Role of Aquatic Foods Within the Pacific School Food Environment.
• Ms Amalya Harding: Post pandemic opportunities for enhanced food and nutrition security in the tropical pacific.
• Ms Bridget Horsey: Exploring food literacy to support preparation and consumption of local, traditional foods in Pacific Island communities.
• Ms Emily Mitchell: Do homestead gardens in Tonga lead to better human health outcomes?
• Ms Jenna Perry: Exploring climate friendly school meals within Pacific Island communities
Teaching areas
Publications by Associate Professor Sarah Burkhart
- Burkhart, S., Singh, P., Hunter, D., Raneri, J.E. (2025) School Food and Nutrition Environments in the Pacific Islands: Opportunities to support healthier diets. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 1-20.
- Davila, F., Burkhart, S., O’Connell, T. (2024) State of Food and Nutrition Security in the Pacific. In The Water, Energy, and Food Security Nexus in Asia and the Pacific: The Pacific 2024 Apr 14 (pp. 85-106). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
- Burkhart, S., Beckford, C., Mathews, E., Daba, A.K., Milton, A.H. Nutrition and sustainable development goal 4: quality education. (2024) Frontiers in Nutrition. Jun 26;11:1447032.
- O’Meara, L., Cohen, P.J., I’ilu Kafa, R., Wate, J.T., Albert, J., Bogard, J., Bonis-Profumo, G., Burkhart, S., Delisle, A., Diffey, S., Eria, T., Farmery, A., Fukofuka, K., Mangubhai, S., Mitchell, M.E.V., Na’ati, E., Nyemah, J.N., Pickering, T., Sutcliffe, S., Swanepoel, L., Thilsted, S.H. and Lam, F.V. (2023). Pacific food systems – The role of fish and other aquatic foods for nutrition and health. Apia. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc5796en
- Underhill, S., Kumar, S., Joshua, L., Patolo, S., Molimau-Samasoni, S. and Burkhart, S. (2023) Postharvest handling practice in the South pacific and its implications on local food systems, Acta Horticulturae, 1364, 271-279. Doi: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1364.36
- Burkhart, S. J., Hayman, A., Lam, F., Jones, B., Horsey, B., Craven, D., Underhill, S. J. R. (2023) School Food Programs in the Pacific Islands: Exploring opportunities and challenges for creating healthier school food environments. Public Health Nutrition, 26(2), pp.455-466. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980022001951
- Underhill, S., Patolo, S., Molimau-Samasoni, S., Kumar, S. and Burkhart, S. (2023) Farmer and market vendor perceptions of COVID-19 impacts on horticultural fresh food systems in Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa, Agriculture and Food Security, 12, pp.1-18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-023-00406-8.
- Maher, J., Ashford, T., Verdonck, M., English, E., and Burkhart, S. (2023) Equipping nutrition graduates for the complex realities of practice: using practitioner perspectives and experiences to inform authentic sustainability curriculum, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 36(4), 1406-1416.
- Higgins, M., Strother, H., Burkhart, S. J., Carlsson, L., Meyer, N., Spiker, M., Wegener, J. (2023). Sustainable food systems and diets in dietetic training standards: an international content analysis. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 36(3), 957-966.
- Theuri, S., Burkhart, S. Calling on all SNEB Members to Engage in the “International Year of the Millets 2023”. (2023). Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Volume 55, Issue 1, 1.
- Burkhart, S. J., Singh, P., Raneri, J., Hayman, A., Katz, S., Matairakula, U., MacKay, C., Horsey, B., Underhill, S. J. R., Kama, A., Maelaua, J., Demei, B., Mitchell, A., Gurung Nyangmi, M., Taawetia, T., Tekatu, T., Hunter, D. (2022). Growing our future: introducing the Pacific School Food Network to support healthy school food and nutrition environments for better nourished children in the Pacific Islands (Commentary). The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific. Volume 18, 100338, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100338.
- Burkhart, S. J., Underhill, S. J. R., Raneri, J. (2022). Realising the potential of neglected and underutilized bananas in improving diets for nutrition and health outcomes in the Pacific Islands. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.805776
- Horsey, B., Taylor, J., Hayman, A., Underhill, S. J. R., Burkhart, S. J. Food Literacy in the Pacific Islands: A Scoping Review. JBI Evidence Synthesis. First online publication 19-Jan-2022.
- Tiitii, S., Paul, N., Burkhart, S. J., Larson, S., Swanepoel, L. (2022). Traditional knowledge and modern motivations for consuming seaweed (limu) in Samoa. Sustainability 14, no. 10: 6212. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106212.
- Medina Hidalgo, D., Nunn, P.D., Beazley, H., Burkhart, S., Rantes, J. (2022). Adaptation, sustainable food systems and healthy diets: an analysis of climate policy integration in Fiji and Vanuatu. Climate Policy, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2022.2095969 https://research.usc.edu.au/discovery/delivery/61USC_INST:ResearchRepository/12164593260002621#13164593250002621
- Burkhart, S. J., Verdonck, M., Ashford, T., Maher, J. Sustainability in nutrition practice: Potential guiding statements to explore, prioritise and integrate sustainability in higher education curriculum. (2021). Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2021.03.011
- Burkhart, S. J., Underhill, S. J. R., Horsey, B., Perry, J., O’Connell, T., Craven, D.L. (2021). Gathering evidence and supporting multi-stakeholder engagement on the role of diets and food systems in the prevention of obesity and non-communicable diseases in Pacific Island Countries (Fiji). Final report. http://www.fao.org/3/cb5194en/cb5194en.pdf
Associate Professor Sarah Burkhart's specialist areas of knowledge include nutrition and food security, food and nutrition education and school food. A key focus of Sarah’s work is school food and nutrition environments in the South Pacific and the potential these have for transformational food system change, improved nutrition, health and educational outcomes, climate resilience and livelihoods.