Maria Wik Markhus

Maria Wik Markhus has 1183 competence and a good track record of international scientific publication, making her results available for both the scientific community as well as the more general audience in the public domain. She has gained experience in the advisory duties of IMR, project leadership, administration and the supervision of junior colleagues.
Scientific qualifications: Maria Wik Markhus (b.23.07.1979) received her higher education in human nutrition at the University of Bergen (UoB). She graduated with the degree of M.Sc. in 2007 and was awarded a doctorate (PhD) in 2014. After defending her theses in 2014, she has been employed as a researcher at National Institute for Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES) now the Institute of Marine Research (IMR). Her work has been concentrated to the field of nutrition, but she has also attained experience in toxicology, risk assessment, and cognitive development/mental health. Markhus has a developing track record of scientific production and has published regularly in high impact international journals over the course of the last fifteen years. The transdisciplinary, methodology and visibility gives the impression of both quality and high scientific impact for IMR`s advisory work in the field of nutrition. Altogether, she covers nutrition toxicology, risk assessment, and cognitive development/mental health and lately with a focus on the risk of low iodine during pregnancy and prior adolescence. She covers all aspects of the role of aquatic food and nutrition security, covering macro- and micronutrient needs for vulnerable groups, especially pregnant women, infants, and children. Markhus has experience with designing of birth cohorts, dietary intervention studies with fish studying the impact on nutrition security and infant development. She has taken part in all aspects of the studies, development and validation of methods to assess biological markers for seafood intake, both nutrients and contaminants, at large the role of seafood in food systems. Markhus have a broad and transdisciplinary network nationally and internationally (psychology, epidemiology, medicine, statistics, biology, and toxicology in addition to her own field nutrition). In addition, she has been contributing to making her research well known in a wider context and written popular scientific publications, as a chronicle author, lecturer, poster presentations in peer review processes, and assessments. 
Experience within advisory work project/research management: She has experience of scientific administration, has led several research projects and has been successful in obtaining external as well as internal research funding. In addition, she holds more administrative or advisory duties as the leader of the secretariat of the UN Global Action Network for Sustainable Food from the Oceans and Inland Waters for Food Security and Nutrition on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. She has also co-hosted a workshop seafood and sustainability on the ongoing One Ocean Expedition. She collaborates extensively with FAO, both through her role as a leader of the global Action network and in preparation of the next benefit risk assessment of seafood by FAO/WHO and takes part in many more national organizations focused on nutrition. 
Teaching and supervision: Markhus has supervised postgraduate students, ten master (16 co-supervised) and two doctoral students, one ongoing. She has been a lecturer in macro- and micronutrients courses (2014-2015).