Staff profile

Dr Catherine Itsiopoulos APD AN

Head of Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Associate Professor

Faculty of Health Sciences

School of Allied Health
Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition

HS3-433, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

BSc BSc (Hons) Grad Dip Diet MPH PhD APD AN

Membership of professional Associations

Dietitians Association of Australia

Area of study

Dietetics

Brief Profile

Catherine Itsiopoulos is the Head of Department and Associate Professor in Dietetics and Human Nutrition at LaTrobe University

Catherine has more than 25 years of clinical, academic and project management experience. Recent positions Catherine has held include Associate Professor and Head of Discipline Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Canberra, Accreditation, Recognition and Education Services Manager with the Dietitians Association of Australia and Fellow of the Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Clinical Science in Diabetes at the University of Melbourne.

Catherine has extensive experience and a strong research interest in dietetic training, dietetic competency evaluation and implementation, and international benchmarking of dietetic examination systems. In her role at the Dietitians Association of Australia Catherine led projects in international benchmarking of dietetic systems and was instrumental in establishing the formal mutual recognition agreement with the New Zealand Dietitians Board. In this role she also championed the review of the examination systems for dietetic skills recognition and credentialing and led the development of an enhanced model of examination utilizing an on-line multiple choice questionnaire format.

Catherine’s major research interests include randomised controlled clinical intervention studies in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome utilizing the Mediterranean diet as a model of intervention. Catherine is also investigating the positive health and mortality profile of Greek born migrants to Australia who have retained their positive CVD mortality profile despite more than 50 years since migration.

Research interests

Chronic disease

- Mediterranean diet in the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.

Teaching Units

Masters by Research (Dietetics) 

PhD (Dietetics)

Recent Publications

 

Brazionis L, Walker K, Itsiopoulos C, O’Dea K. Plasma retinol: a novel marker for cardiovascular disease mortality in Australian adults. Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases (accepted for publication 13 September 2011). Brazionis L, Ting E, Itsiopoulos C, Wilson A, Hodge A. The effects of fish or fish oil on the omega-3 index? Nutrition and Dietetics; 2011 (accepted for publication May 2011) Itsiopoulos C, Brazionis L, Hodge A, Stoney R, Rowley K, O’Dea, K. Can the Mediterranean diet explain metabolically healthy obesity? Journal of Diabetes 2011 Vol 3 (Suppl. 1):210. Itsiopoulos C, Brazionis L. A Mediterranean dietary pattern associated with lower all-cause mortality in Australians. Journal of Diabetes 2011 Vol 3 (Suppl. 1):205   Hodge A, English D.R, Itsiopoulos C, O’Dea K, Giles G.G. Mediterranean diet and mortality in diabetes. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases; 2010 (accepted October 2010, published on-line December 2010). Itsiopoulos C, Brazionis L, Hodge, Rowley K, O’Dea K. Greek migrants to Australia: Obese but metabolically healthy? Longitudinal and Life Course Studies; 2010 Volume 1 (Issue 3 Suppl):67. Itsiopoulos C. Mediterranean diet for optimal management of diabetes?Diabetes Management Journal 2010;32:28.

Itsiopoulos C, Brazionis L, Kaimakamis M, Cameron M, Best JD, O’Dea K, Rowley K. Can the Mediterranean diet lower HbA1c in type 2 diabetes? Results from a randomized cross-over study. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases;2010 (in press). DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2010.03.005  

Brazionis L, Rowley K, Itsiopoulos C, O’Dea K. Is risk of diabetic retinopathy lower in Australia's Greek-born migrants? Diabetic Medicine. 2010;27(6):660-665.  

Brazionis L, Yau J, Rowley K., Itsiopoulos C, O’Dea K. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activity and retinal vascular caliber in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Research in Clinical Practice. 2009;87:192-199.

Brazionis L, Rowley K, Itsiopoulos C, and O’Dea K. Plasma Carotenoids and Diabetic Retinopathy. British Journal of Nutrition (2009), 101, 270–277.

Itsiopoulos C, Hodge A, Kaimakamis M. Can the Mediterranean Diet Prevent Prostate Cancer? Mol Nutr Food Res. 2009, 53:227-239.

Brazionis L, Rowley K, Itsiopoulos C, Harper CA, O'Dea K. Homocysteine and diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes Care. 2008 Jan;31(1):50-6. Brazionis L, Rowley K, Jenkins A, Itsiopoulos C, O’Dea K. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activity in type 2 diabetes: a different relationship with CHD and diabetic retinopathy. Atheroscl Thrombos Vasc Biol. 28: 786-791, 2008. Brazionis L., Itsiopoulos C., Rowley K., O’Dea K., and Best J. Plasma biomarkers of adherence to Mediterranean-style and Australian eating patterns. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 2007;51(Suppl. 1):61. Brazionis L., Itsiopoulos C., Rowley K., O’Dea K., and Best J. Adherence to a traditional Greek Mediterranean eating pattern is characterized by the ratio of non-provitamin A to provitamin A plasma carotenoids. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 2007;51(Suppl. 1):337. Lee CT, Rowley K, Jenkins AJ, O'Dea K, Itsiopoulos C, Stoney RM, Su Q, Giles GG, Best JD. Paraoxonase activity in Greek migrants and Anglo-Celtic persons in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study: relationship to dietary markers. Eur J Nutr. 2005 Jun;44(4):223-30. Itsiopoulos C., L Brazionis L., RowleyK., and O’Dea K. The Greek migrant morbidity mortality paradox: low levels of hypertriglyceridaemia and insulin resistance despite central obesity. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2005;14(Suppl):S43. Brazionis L., Itsiopoulos C., Rowley K., and O’Dea K. Factor analysis identifies a Mediterranean-style eating pattern of dietary intake that is protective against diabetic retinopathy. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2005;14(Suppl):S73. Su Q, Rowley KG, Itsiopoulos C, O'Dea K. Identification and quantitation of major carotenoids in selected components of the Mediterranean diet: green leafy vegetables, figs and olive oil. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2002 Nov;56(11):1149-54. Cox H.S., Kaye D.M., Thompson J.M., Turner A.G., Jennings G.L., Itsiopoulos C., Esler M.D. Regional Sympathetic Nervous Activation Following a Large Meal in Humans. Clinical Science. 1995;89(2):145-154. Itsiopoulos, C. & Willcox, J. "Nutrition Supplementation: A Cost Effective Component of Patient Care?" Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, 50(3): 91 - 93, 1993.  

Resume

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Research projects

Catherine leads a number of clinical intervention studies including: i) Investigating the impact of slow and high temperature cooking methods on advanced glycation end products concentration in different Mediterranean-type diets and their impact on metabolic profile, ii) Investigating the impact of a traditional Mediterranean-style diet in patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, iii) Investigating the impact of high n3 fatty acid diets on metabolic control in type 2 diabetes, iv) Investigating the impact of n3 fatty acids (fish vs fish oil) on vascular function post AMI, in collaboration with colleagues Dr Laima Brazionis (University of Adelaide), Dr Andrew Wilson (University of Melbourne), Dr Marno Ryan (University of Melbourne), Dr Allison Hodge (Cancer Council Victoria), Dr Karen Walker (Monash University), Dr Josephine Forbes (Baker-IDI), Dr Melinda Coughlan (Baker-IDI), and Professor Kerin O’Dea (University of South Australia). Catherine is currently establishing the Australian arm of the Mediterranean Islands Study (a prospective cohort of elderly Greeks born in the Greek Islands) in collaboration with Dr Antigone Kouris (La Trobe University) and Dr Evangelos Polychronopoulos from Harocopion University, Athens.