Carla Prado, PhD, RD, FCAHS

Edmonton, AB | @DrCarlaPrado

Professor, Human Nutrition

University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB | @DrCarlaPrado

CWHHA member since 2024

Biography  

Dr. Carla Prado is a Professor and Registered Dietitian at the University of Alberta, and holds a Campus Alberta Innovates (CAIP) Chair in Nutrition, Food and Health. She is the Director of the Human Nutrition Research Unit (HNRU), the top research and training facility for body composition and energy metabolism assessments in Canada and among the best worldwide. Carla is renowned for her expertise in assessing nutritional status through the precise measurement of body composition and energy metabolism. Her current research is centered on the prevalence and health outcomes of abnormal body composition phenotypes in patients with various chronic conditions. Moreover, she is pioneering targeted nutrition interventions to enhance body composition, especially muscle mass in these patients. Leading several randomized controlled trials, she investigates the impact of nutritional interventions on energy metabolism, body composition, and overall health. Cardiovascular health, in particular, is an outcome of interest in many of her trials. Collaborating with top experts across Canada, she is exploring the links between nutrition, body composition, and cardiovascular well-being. Her most recent trialRESILIENCE (bEhaviourS for LIfe after ENdometrial CancEr), focuses on the effects of multimodal interventions, including nutrition, on waist circumference, body composition, and cardiovascular health in endometrial cancer survivors. Advanced cardiovascular assessments within this study are expertly led by Dr. Amy Kirkham from the University of Toronto. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Alberta, Dr. Prado completed training at the Cross Cancer Institute (Canada), the National Institutes of Health (USA), Newcastle University(UK), and the University of Hawaii Cancer Center (USA). She serves as an Associate Editor for esteemed journals like Clinical Nutrition, the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, and Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care. Dr. Prado's contributions have led to her induction into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and her membership in the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists, two high academic distinctions in Canada. She is also celebrated in the list of Most Powerful Women in Canada: Top 100.