DrRebecca Leech

First prize, Best PhD paper, School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University (2018, 2015)

Selected Awards and Prizes

National Heart Foundation (NHF) Postdoctoral Fellowship, NHF. (Cat. 1 funding; $150,000; commencing July 2019; 2 years)

Finalist, Premier's Award for Health and Medical Research (Public Health Researcher Category. (2019) Winner to be announced March 2019.

Early Career Travel Grant, Nutrition Society of Australia ($1000). A competitive award that recognises high quality nutrition research completed by early career researchers. (2018)

Alfred Deakin Medal for Doctoral Thesis. Awarded to the student who produced the most outstanding thesis, Deakin University (2018)

Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Fellowship, Deakin University. This a highly competitive fellowship scheme (11% success rate in 2017, 18 awarded from 159 applications), ($205,797; 2018-2019)

Higher Degrees by Research Publication Award, Faculty of Health, Deakin University ($3000). Award to support publication of research findings from PhD thesis (2017)

Second prize, Best student oral presentation, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, 11th Higher Degrees by Research Symposium, Melbourne (2015)

The Nutrition Society Paper of the Month for paper in Nutrition Research Reviews (June, 2015)

Deakin University Finalist (including school winner and faculty runner-up), 3 Minute Thesis Competition, Deakin University (2015)

Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship (2013-2016)

Student Travel Grant to present at Nutrition Society of Australia Scientific Meetings (Years awarded: 2012-2014)

Second prize for best student oral presentation, Nutrition Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting (Brisbane, 2013)

Australian Unity Faculty Award for best Honours thesis related to the topic of wellbeing ($500; 2013)

INVITED PRESENTATIONS

Leech RM. Understanding adults eating patterns: definitions, methodology and associations with diet and health. Invited Early Career Researcher Presentation, International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Cape Town (International), June 2016

Leech RM. Learning to embrace chaos: tales of a fledgling researcher and an over-caffeinated mum. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Higher Degrees by Research and Honours Symposium (invited keynote speaker; October 2018)

Leech RM. Temporal eating patterns of Australian adults: methodology and associations with diet and health. Nutrition Society of Australia Symposium: A good time to eat: the impact of time of day on health outcomes (invited presenter; October 2018)

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

Leech RM, Pendergast FJ, Worsley A, McNaughton SA. Correlates of sugar-sweetened beverage intake at eating occasions in Australian young adults. NSA ASM, Canberra, Nov 2018

Leech RM, Pendergast FJ, Worsley A, McNaughton SA. Correlates of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in Australian young adults. ECR Symposium (Prize session). ANZOS, Melbourne, 2018.

Leech RM, Timperio A, Worsley A, McNaughton SA. Eating patterns of Australian adults: associations with blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension. Poster Presentation. Nutrition 2018 (American Society for Nutrition Scientific Meeting. Boston, June 2018

Leech RM, Timperio A, Livingstone KM, Worsley A, McNaughton SA. Temporal eating patterns: associations with nutrient intakes, diet quality and measures of adiposity. Oral Presentation. 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Clinical Nutrition. Adelaide, November 2017

Leech RM, Worsley A, Timperio A, McNaughton SA. Associations between eating patterns and measures of adiposity in Australian adults. Oral Presentation. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of Australia. Melbourne, November 2016