BATAL Malek
Université de Montréal, Canada
- Malek Batal is a Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the Department of Nutrition in Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Medicine. Since 2014, he is the Director of the WHO-collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development (TRANSNUT), and, since 2020, he holds the Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Health Inequalities (CIENS).
- Malek Batal is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He is also a member of the Research Centre for Public Health (CReSP).
- He conducts participatory research on environmental, social, economic and cultural determinants of food choices and their link with individual and population health.
- He is involved in pan-Canadian projects: the Food, Environment, Health and Nutrition of First Nations Children and Youth (FEHNCY) and the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES). He is also involved in international projects, including in Ecuador and Guatemala on the potential of agro-ecology and alternative food networks in the fight against chronic disease.
- He collaborates with Indigenous and rural people internationally, putting his research findings at the service of public policy.
Recent publications:
- Deaconu A*, Batal M, Calderón CI, Caron P, McNally J, Frison E, Mercille G, Riva M, and Brisbois B. 2024. Food Systems Innovation to Nurture Equity and Resilience Globally (Food SINERGY): insights from the Food SINERGY network. FACETS. 9: 1-15.
- Sebai I, et al. Exploring the association between the Healthy Eating Food Index-2019 (HEFI-2019), the Canadian Healthy Eating Index 2007 (C-HEI 2007), and health among First Nations adults across Canada. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Jan 1;50:1-12.
- Levacher V, et al. Ultra-processed food consumption: an exploration of social determinants among Black children of African and Caribbean descent in Ottawa. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Jan 1;50:1-12.
- Mobetty F, et al. Exploring Indigenous food sovereignty and food environments characteristics through food interventions in Canada: a scoping review. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2025 Dec;84(1):2438428.
- Sebai I, et al. Eating traditional foods enhances diet quality among First Nations in Canada: an analysis using the Healthy Eating Food Index-2019 (HEFI-2019) and the Canadian Healthy Eating Index 2007 (C-HEI 2007). Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Jan 1;50:1-13.