Maryam Kebbe

Research interests

• Nutrition and physical activity
• Maternal and infant health
• Breastmilk and microbiome
• Obesity and metabolic diseases

Current teaching

• KIN 4481 Exercise & Sport Nutrition

Biography

Dr. Maryam Kebbe received her BSc in Life Sciences from the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario), and her PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Alberta’s Department of Pediatrics (Edmonton, Alberta). She completed postdoctoral training in the Medical Sciences Division at the University of Oxford (Oxford, United Kingdom) first, followed by the Reproductive Endocrinology & Women's Health Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center (Baton Rouge, Louisiana).

Dr. Kebbe is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick. She joined the Faculty in January 2023 and teaches Exercise and Sport Nutrition. Dr. Kebbe established her roots as a nutrition and behaviour scientist and innovated solutions within clinical settings to manage obesity, from infancy through adulthood. Dr. Kebbe’s current research interests are related to the interplay between nutrition, physical activity, and host physiology, specifically breastmilk composition and the gut microbiome, and how these may influence obesity programming. Through a better understanding of these predictors, as well as immunomodulatory, inflammatory, metabolic, and endocrine mechanisms, Dr. Kebbe hopes to develop and implement novel, effective, and sustainable interventions to prevent obesity in infants and subsequent generations.

Current research projects

• Prenatal and postnatal factors in the intergenerational transmission of obesity
• Nutrition and physical activity on breastmilk composition and infant gut microbiota
• Nutrition and feeding during infancy on growth and development

Recent publications

Kebbe M, Most J, Altazan AD, Redman LM. Protein leverage hypothesis in pregnant women with obesity and their infants. In preparation.

Kebbe M, Srivastav A, Piper C, Dorling J, Das SK, Ravussin E, Redman LM. Dietary, physical activity, immune, inflammatory, and endocrine predictors of metabolic adaptation following caloric restriction: explaining interindividual variation in CALERIE 2 participants. In preparation.

Kebbe M, Leung K, Goodson M, Reimer R, Adamo K, Haqq A, Redman LM. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in relation to the microbiome, obesity risk factors, and safety and tolerance. In preparation.

Kebbe M, Shankar K, Redman LM, Andres A. Association between maternal short-chain fatty acids and fat oxidation, energy expenditure, and appetite-regulating hormones during pregnancy in mothers of normal weight and with obesity. In preparation.

Kebbe M, Altazan AD, Beyl RA, Gilmore A, Redman LM. Infant feeding varies across eating behavior and feeding modalities in mothers with low income. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2022; 54: 827-834.

Sparks JR, Flanagan EW*, Kebbe M*, Redman LM. Understanding barriers and facilitators to physical activity engagement to inform a precision prescription approach during pregnancy. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 2022.

Johnston BC, Medrad R, Sherifali D, Kebbe M, Birken CS, Buchholz A, Ge L, Gehring ND, Hadjiyannakis S, Hamilton J, Hatanaka D, Henderson M, Lebel T, Moore SA, Morrison KM, Salas XR, Sebastianski M, Zenlea IS, Ball GDC. Updating the Canadian clinical practice guidelines for managing pediatric obesity: a protocol. CMAJ Open, 2022; 10: E155-E164.

Michalopoulou M, Ferrey AE, Harmer G, Goddard L, Kebbe M, Theodoulou A, Jebb SA, Aveyard P. The effectiveness of motivational interviewing in managing overweight and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2022; 175: 838-850.

Kebbe M, Flanagan EW*, Sparks JR*, Redman LM. Eating behaviors and dietary patterns of women during pregnancy: optimizing the universal ‘teachable moment’. Nutrients, 2021; 13: 3298.

Lindsay KL, Most J, Buehler K, Kebbe M, Altazan A, Redman LM. Maternal mindful eating as a target for improving metabolic outcomes in pregnant women with obesity. Frontiers in Bioscience Landmark, 2021; 26: 1548-1558.

Hayman M, Alfrey K, Water KM, Cannon S, Keating S, Mena GP, Mielke GI, Mottola MF, Evenson KR, Davenport MH, Budzynski-Seymour E, Comardelle N, Dickey M, Harrison CL, Kebbe M, Moholdt T, Moran LJ, Nagpal TS, Schoeppe S, Alley S, Brown W, Williams S, Vincze L. Evaluating evidence-based content, features of exercise instruction, and expert involvement in physical activity apps for pregnant women: systematic search and content analysis. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2021; 10: e31607.

Ramos Salas X, Buoncristiano M, Williams J, Kebbe M, Spinelli S, Nardone P, Rito A, … Breda J. Parental perceptions of children’s weight status in 22 countries: the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative – COSI 2015/2017. Obesity Facts, 2021; 14: 658-674.

Little M, Serber-Souza S, Kebbe M, Spratt T, Aveyard P, Jebb SA. A natural experiment comparing the effectiveness of the “Healthy Eagles” child weight management intervention in school versus community settings. Nutrients, 2021; 13: 3912.

Kebbe M*, Gao M*, Jebb SA‡, Piernas C‡. Adherence to international dietary recommendations and associations with metabolic syndrome biomarkers, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality in the UK Biobank: a prospective cohort study. BMC Medicine, 2021; 19: 134.

Kebbe M, Perez A, Buccholz A, McHugh TLF, Scott SD, Richard C, Dyson MP, Ball GDC. Conversation Cards for Adolescents©: a patient-centered communication and behavior change tool for adolescents with obesity and health care providers. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 2020; 13: 79-88.