• Nutrition internationale
• Sécurité alimentaire
• Nutrition des peuples autochtones
• Systèmes alimentaires
• Migration et santé nutritionnelle
• Inégalités en nutrition et santé

Malek Batal is a Professor at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Medicine and the Director of the WHO-Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development (TRANSNUT). Malek holds the Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Health Inequalities (CIENS) and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He conducts participatory research studying the links between environment and food system health and population health, in an effort to redress health inequities. Equally important to scientific rigor is the relevance and usefulness of his research to society. This is why he collaborates as part of transdisciplinary research teams with First Nations in Canada and Indigenous and rural people internationally, prioritizing engagement with knowledge users from civil society and governments and putting his research findings at the service of public policy.

Among First Nations, he is involved in two pan-Canadian projects: the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (www.FEHNCY.ca) and the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (www.FNFNES.ca), which measure and qualify the dietary intake and the risk of exposure to environmental contaminants among First Nations adults, children and youth living on reserve across the country. Both projects are funded by Indigenous Services Canada. With funding from CIHR, he is undertaking several projects on food security for First Nations, including one project with the Okanagan Nation Alliance assessing the impact on food quality, food security and health of an environmental remediation project and the reintroduction of salmon into the Okanagan water system and a project on the impact of climate change on food security and nutrition in four coastal First Nations in British Columbia.

Internationally, Malek Batal is involved in several projects, including one in Ecuador through joint funding from CIHR and IDRC as part of the Global Alliance for Chronic Disease to study the potential of agro-ecology and alternative food networks in the fight against diabetes and hypertension, as a follow-up to the project assessing the impact on food and health of a national campaign and food policies on nutrition labelling, also in Ecuador. In Haiti, he is co-leading a project on the nutritional health of mothers and their young children with significant four-year funding from Global Affairs Canada. Through a G3 partnership http://g3univ.org, he is undertaking an online training project on the nutritional management of diabetes in a developing country context. Since September 2014, he has been the Director of TRANSNUT, the WHO-Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development.

• Mildon A, Decelles S, Salameh B, Sebai I, Batal M (2022). Protecting both infant and mother: perceptions of infant feeding practices in rural Haiti. Journal of Global Health Reports. 2022; 6: e2022054. doi:10.29392/001c.38736
• Decelles S, Nardocci M, Mildon A, Salameh B, Batal M⁺ (2022). Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding among Haitian children under 6 months of age. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2022 Jul 16;46:e84. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2022.84. PMID: 35855440; PMCID: PMC9288224. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9288224/
• Blanchet R, Willows N, Johnson S; Okanagan Nation Salmon Reintroduction Initiatives, Batal M (2022). Enhancing cultural food security among the Syilx Okanagan adults with the reintroduction of Okanagan sockeye salmon. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2022 Feb;47(2):124-133. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2021-0321. Epub 2021 Nov 22. PMID: 34807751. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34807751/
• Blanchet R, Batal M⁺, Johnson-Down L, Johnson S, Okanagan Nation Reintroduction Initiatives, Willows N (2021). An Indigenous food sovereignty initiative is positively associated with well-being and cultural connectedness in a survey of Syilx Okanagan adults in British Columbia, Canada. BMC Public Health 21, 1405 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11229-2
• Issa C, Hobeika M, Khairallah W, El-Jawaldeh A, Batal M (2021). Timing and types of fluids and foods first introduced in a representative sample of toddlers attending day care programs across Lebanon: Are parents following international recommendations? Journal of Pediatric Nursing. Published online. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2021.07.003
• Batal M⁺, Chan HM, Fediuk K, Ing A, Berti P, Sadik T, Johnson-Down L (2021). Importance of the traditional food systems for First Nations adults living on reserves in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 20–28 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-020-00353-y
• Batal M⁺, Chan HM, Fediuk K, Ing A, Berti P, Sadik T, Johnson-Down L (2021). Associations of health status and diabetes among First Nations Peoples living on-reserve in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 154–167 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00488-6

• Batal M, Kenny TA, Johnson-Down L, Chan L, Sadik T, Ing A, Fediuk K, Willows N (2022). Development of an optimal grocery list based on actual intake from a cross-sectional study of First Nations adults in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2020-0950

• Blanchet R, Batal M⁺, Johnson-Down L, Johnson S, Okanagan Nation Reintroduction Initiatives, Willows N (2021). An Indigenous food sovereignty initiative is positively associated with well-being and cultural connectedness in a survey of Syilx Okanagan adults in British Columbia, Canada. BMC Public Health 21, 1405 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11229-2
• Issa C, Hobeika M, Khairallah W, El-Jawaldeh A, Batal M (2021). Timing and types of fluids and foods first introduced in a representative sample of toddlers attending day care programs across Lebanon: Are parents following international recommendations? Journal of Pediatric Nursing. Published online. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2021.07.003
• Batal M⁺, Chan HM, Fediuk K, Ing A, Berti P, Sadik T, Johnson-Down L (2021). Importance of the traditional food systems for First Nations adults living on reserves in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 20–28 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-020-00353-y
• Batal M⁺, Chan HM, Fediuk K, Ing A, Berti P, Sadik T, Johnson-Down L (2021). Associations of health status and diabetes among First Nations Peoples living on-reserve in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 154–167 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00488-6
• Batal M⁺, Chan HM, Fediuk K, Ing A, Berti P, Sadik T, Johnson-Down L (2021). Nutrient adequacy and nutrient sources of adults among ninety-two First Nations communities across Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 29–40 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00490-y
• Marushka L, Batal M, Tikhonov, Sadik T, Schwartz H, Ing A, Fediuk K, Chan HM (2021), Importance of Fish for Food and Nutrition Security among First Nations in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 64–80 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00481-z   
• Batal M⁺, Chan HM, Fediuk K, Ing A, Mercille G., Berti P, Sadik T, Johnson-Down L (2021). First Nations households living on reserve experience food insecurity: prevalence and predictors among ninety-two First Nations communities across Canada.Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 52–63 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00491-x    
• Batal M⁺, Chan HM, Fediuk K, Ing A, Berti P, Sadik T, Johnson-Down L (2021). Comparison of measures of diet quality using 24-hour recall data of First Nations adults living on reserves in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 112, 41–51 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00489-5
• Berti PR, Nardocci M, Tran MH, Batal M, Brodmann R, Greliche N, Saville NM (2021). Using DHS and MICS data to complement or replace NGO baseline health data: an exploratory study. F1000Research, Vol 10:69. Published online. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.47618.1
• Deaconu A*, Berti PR, Cole DC, Mercille G, Batal M⁺ (2021). Agroecology and nutritional health: A comparison of agroecological farmers and their neighbors in the Ecuadorian highlands. Food Policy, 2021, 102034, ISSN 0306-9192, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102034.
• Deaconu A*, Berti PR, Cole DC, Mercille G, Batal M⁺ (2021).  Market Foods, Own Production and Social Economy: how food acquisition sources influence nutrient intake among Ecuadorian farmers and the role of agroecology in supporting healthy diets. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4410. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084410
• Deaconu A*, Ekomer, Mercille G, Batal M. (2021). Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador. BMC Nutrition 7(1). https://bmcnutr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40795-020-00395-y
• Mildon A, Decelles S, Salameh B, Sebai I, Batal M (2022). Protecting both infant and mother: perceptions of infant feeding practices in rural Haiti. Journal of Global Health Reports. 2022; 6: e2022054. doi:10.29392/001c.38736
• Decelles S, Nardocci M, Mildon A, Salameh B, Batal M⁺ (2022). Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding among Haitian children under 6 months of age. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2022 Jul 16;46:e84. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2022.84. PMID: 35855440; PMCID: PMC9288224. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9288224/
• Blanchet R, Willows N, Johnson S; Okanagan Nation Salmon Reintroduction Initiatives, Batal M (2022). Enhancing cultural food security among the Syilx Okanagan adults with the reintroduction of Okanagan sockeye salmon. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2022 Feb;47(2):124-133. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2021-0321. Epub 2021 Nov 22. PMID: 34807751. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34807751/
• Deaconu A, Mercille G, Batal M. (2020). Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador. BMC Nutrition. 10.21203/rs.2.18285/v1
• April-Lalonde G, Latorre S, Paredes M, Hurtado MF, Muñoz F, Deaconu A, Cole DC, Batal M*. (2020). Characteristics and Motivations of Consumers of Direct Purchasing Channels and The Perceived Barriers to Alternative Food Purchase: a Cross-Sectional Study in the Ecuadorian Andes. Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6923. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/17/6923/htm
• Blanchet R, Willows N, Johnson S, Okanagan Nation Salmon Reintroduction Initiatives, Batal M (2020). Traditional Food, Health, and Diet Quality in Syilx Okanagan Adults in British Columbia, Canada. Nutrients, 12(4), 927; https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/4/927   
• Domingo A, Springer J, Wittman H, Gruhn M, Chan HM, Tikhonov C, Ing A, Fediuk K, Sadik T, Batal M (2020). Predictors of household food insecurity and relationship with obesity in First Nations communities in British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario. Public Health Nutrition.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019004889
• Johnson-Down L, Willows N, Kenny TA, Ing A, Fediuk K, Sadik T, Chan HM, Batal M* (2019). Optimization modeling to improve the diets of First Nations individuals. Journal of Nutritional Science. vol. 8, e31, page 1 of 18.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jns.2019.30.
• Batal M*, Decelles S (2019). A scoping review of obesity among Indigenous peoples in Canada. Journal of Obesity. Volume 2019, Article ID 9741090, 20 pages https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2019/9741090/
• Deaconu A, Mercille G, Batal M (2019). The Agroecological Farmer’s Pathways from Agriculture to Nutrition: a practice-based case from Ecuador’s highlands. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, Vol 58(2), pp. 142-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2019.1570179
• Edde C. E, Delisle H, Daboné C, Batal M* (2019). Impact of the Nutrition-Friendly School Initiative: Analysis of anthropometric and biochemical data among school-aged children in Ouagadougou. Global Health Promotion. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1757975918789350
• Willows N, Johnson-Down L, Kenny,T A, Chan HM, Batal M* (2018). Modelling optimal diets for quality and cost: examples from Inuit and First Nations communities in Canada. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. Jul; 44(7):696-703. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2018-0624 : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30566364
• Batal M*, Steinhouse L, Delisle H (2018). La transition nutritionnelle et le double fardeau de la malnutrition. Médecine et santé tropicales, Vol 28(4), pp. 345-350. https://www.jle.com/fr/revues/mst/e-docs/la_transition_nutritionnelle_et_le_double_fardeau_de_la_malnutrition_313512/article.phtml