Kristie Bell

Dr. Kristie Bell is a Senior Lecturer at the Child Health Research Centre in the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Queensland. She obtained her PhD from the University of Queensland School of Medicine in 2005, focusing on energy expenditure, physical activity, and body composition in children with cerebral palsy. Her academic interests encompass nutrition management, growth monitoring, body composition analysis, oropharyngeal dysphagia, feeding and swallowing difficulties, physical activity levels, and sedentary behavior in preschool-aged children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disorders. She has also investigated temporary tube feeding strategies, household food insecurity screening in pediatric services, nutrition in Crohn’s disease, and early interventions for infants at high risk of cerebral palsy in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Bell's career highlights include leading and contributing to funded research projects such as the NHMRC-funded PREDICT-CP study (2014–2021), Implementation and Evaluation of a Feeding Tube Exit Strategy (Children's Hospital Foundation, 2018–2020), and Identifying red flags for feeding difficulties in children with cerebral palsy (Nutricia Research Foundation, 2017–2019). She has supervised doctoral students as principal and associate advisor on theses exploring lifestyle factors, physical activity, and energy balance in children with cerebral palsy. With over 78 scholarly works, notable publications include "Oropharyngeal dysphagia and gross motor skills in children with cerebral palsy" (2013), "Nutritional management of children with cerebral palsy" (2013), "Determinants of muscle preservation in individuals with cerebral palsy across the lifespan: a narrative review of the literature" (2018), "The evolution of nutrition management in children with severe neurological impairment with a focus on cerebral palsy" (2024), and book chapters such as "Assessment of nutritional state: dietetic, energy and macronutrients" (2020) and "Use of segmental lengths for the assessment of growth in children with cerebral palsy" (2012). Her contributions have enhanced clinical guidelines and screening tools for pediatric nutrition and health outcomes.

Professional Email: k.bell@uq.edu.au