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Office Location: 65 Bergen Street Suite 157 Newark, NJ 07107
Dr. Rawal’s research takes a life-course epidemiological approach to examine the nutritional and biopsychosocial risk factors of cardiometabolic diseases. One line of her research explores how taste and smell perception changes with exposures across the life span (e.g., smoking, viral infections), and act as biological drivers of dietary behaviors and cardiometabolic disease risk.
Her research also focuses on pregnancy as a critical life event that influences the short-and long-term cardiometabolic health of women and their children. Primarily, her research emphasis has been on identifying early biomarkers, and dietary and lifestyle determinants of gestational diabetes as well as risk factors for its progression to type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic complications such as renal dysfunction.
Dr. Rawal is currently a Principal Investigator on two pregnancy cohort studies in Dhulikhel, Nepal and Newark, NJ, respectively. She also serves as a PI on an NIH-funded study that aims to develop and test a mobile health application for self-management and treatment of gestational diabetes among pregnant women in Nepal.
Ph.D., University of Connecticut
| Award | Year |
| Excellence in Research Award, Rutgers School of Health Professions | 2020 |
| Summer Student Intern Project Grant, Rutgers School of Health Professions | 2020 |
| Chancellor’s Diversity Scholar, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences | 2018 |
| Rutgers Global International Travel Grant Award, Rutgers University | 2018 |
| Summer Student Intern Project Grant, Rutgers School of Health Professions | 2018 |
| Fellows’ Award for Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health | 2017 |
| Travel Grant, The Obesity Society | 2016 |
| Fellows’ Award for Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health | 2016 |
| Finalist, Early Career Grant Challenge, The Obesity Society | 2016 |
| Intramural Research Training Award, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development | 2015-2017 |
| Finalist, American Society for Nutrition’s Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Competition | 2015 |
| Top Oral Presentation Award, Graduate Student Research Forum, University of Connecticut | 2015 |
| Edward Victor Gant Scholarship Award, University of Connecticut | 2014 |
| Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Award, University of Connecticut | 2014 |
| Graduate Student Travel Award, University of Connecticut | 2014 |
| Top Poster Presentation Award, Graduate Student Research Forum, University of Connecticut | 2014 |
| Travel Award, Association for Chemoreception Sciences | 2013 |
| Top Oral Presentation Award, Graduate Student Research Forum, University of Connecticut | 2011 |
| Francis Winship Walter Merit Scholarship, Agnes Scott College | 2004-2005 |
| Dean’s Honor List, Agnes Scott College | 2002-2004 |
| Pew Biomedical Scholars Nominee, Rutgers School of Health Professions | 2020 |
Research Interests
Dr. Rawal’s research takes a life-course epidemiological approach to examine the nutritional and biopsychosocial risk factors of cardiometabolic diseases. One line of her research explores how taste and smell perception changes with exposures across the life span (e.g., smoking, viral infections), and act as biological drivers of dietary behaviors and cardiometabolic disease risk. Her research also focuses on pregnancy as a critical life event that influences the short-and long-term cardiometabolic health of women and their children.
Primarily, her research emphasis has been on identifying early biomarkers, and dietary and lifestyle determinants of gestational diabetes as well as risk factors for its progression to type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic complications such as renal dysfunction. Dr. Rawal is currently a Principal Investigator on two pregnancy cohort studies in Dhulikhel, Nepal and Newark, NJ, respectively. She also serves as a PI on an NIH-funded study that aims to develop and test a mobile health application for self-management and treatment of gestational diabetes among pregnant women in Nepal.
Research areas: perinatal epidemiology, gestational diabetes, taste perception, olfaction, nutritional epidemiology, cardiometabolic diseases
| Title | Sponsor | Effective Dates | Role |
| NIH 1R21TW011377-01. Development and Testing of a Mobile Health Application for Management of Gestational Diabetes | National Institutes of Health | 09/06/2019 – 04/30/2020 | Principal Investigator |
| New Jersey Alliance for Clinical Translational Science: NJ ACTS | NIH/NCATS 3UL1TR003017-02S1 | 07/16/2020 – 02/28/2021 | Co-Investigator |
| Continuous Glucose Profiles during Pregnancy and Associations with Perinatal Outcomes | Rutgers SHP Dean’s Intramural Grants Program | 9/1/2020-08/31/2022 | Principal Investigator |
| Methadone vs. Buprenorphine Therapy for Opioid Dependence: Diet and Metabolic Implications | Busch Biomedical Grant | 10/2018-10/2020 | Principal Investigator |
| Taste Perception in Pregnancy and Gestational Weight Gain | Rutgers SHP Dean’s Intramural Grants Program | 9/2018-9/2020 | Principal Investigator |
| Development of Valid and Reliable Dietary and Physical Activity Assessments for a Birth Cohort Study in Kathmandu, Nepal | Rutgers Global Health Institute | 5/2018-5/2020 | Principal Investigator |
| Associations between Measured Chemosensory Function, Health History/Behaviors and Obesity / NHANES Chemosensory Development and Implementation Protocol | NIH/NIDCD Interagency Agreement (Y1-DC-0013) with CDC/NCHS through Westat | 7/2010-6/2015 | Project Officer/Co-Investigator |
| Predictors of Weight Loss Success after Bariatric Surgery: Baseline Status and Postsurgical Alterations in Oral Sensory Phenotype and Food Preference | Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science Seed Grant | 2015-2017 | Co-Investigator |
| Diabetes & Women’s Health Study- a study of long-term health implications of glucose intolerance in pregnancy | NICHD Intramural Research Program | 2010-2016 | Collaborator |
| Novel biochemical markers & gestational diabetes in a multiracial pregnancy cohort: prospective study nested within the NICHD Fetal Growth Study | NICHD Intramural Research Program | 2009-2016 | Collaborator |
| Intergenerational Health Study: Study of Long-term Trans-generational Impacts of Obesity and Diabetes on the Offspring, Determinants and Underlying Mechanisms | NICHD Intramural Research Program | 2016-2021 | Collaborator |
| Title | Authors | Where and When |
| Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin, Cardiometabolic Markers and Gestational Diabetes: A Longitudinal Study and Meta-Analysis. Maternal Fetal Medicine | Li M, Rawal S, Tsai MY, Hinkle SN, Zhu Y, Albert PS, Zhang C. | Maternal Fetal Medicine (in press) |
| Elimination of Routine Gastric Residual Volume Monitoring Improves Patient Outcomes in Adult Critically Ill Patients in a Community Hospital Setting | Bruen T, Rawal S, Tomesko J, Byham-Gray L. | Nutrition in Clinical Practice (in press) |
| Associations of Olfactory Dysfunction with Anthropometric and Cardiometabolic Measures: Findings from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) | Gallo S, Byham-Gray L, Duffy VB, Hoffman HJ, Hayes JE, Rawal S. | Physiol Behav. 2019 Oct 17. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112702 |
| A Prospective Study of Leukocyte Telomere Length and Risk of Gestational Diabetes in a Multiracial Cohort | Lin Y, Zhu Y, Wu J, Hinkle SN, Rawal S, Han J, Weir NL, Tsai MY, Zhang C. | Epidemiology. 2019 Nov;30 Suppl 2:S10-S16. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001081 |
| A prospective study of artificially sweetened beverage intake and cardiometabolic health among women at high risk | Hinkle SN, Rawal S, Bjerregaard AA, Halldorsson TI, Li M, Ley SH, Wu J, Zhu Y, Chen L, Liu A, Grunnet LG, Rahman ML, Kampmann FB, Mills JL, Olsen SF, Zhang C. | Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 Jun 7. pii: nqz094. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz094. |
| A Prospective Study of Gestational Diabetes and Fatty Liver Scores 9-16 Years After Pregnancy | Donnelly SR, Hinkle SN, Rawal S, Grunnet LG, Chavarro JE, Vaag A, Wu J, Damm P, Mills JL, Li M, Ahrendt Bjerregaard A, Thuesen ACB, Gore-Langton RE, Francis EC, Ley SH, Hu FB, Tsai MY, Olsen SF, Zhang C. | J Diabetes. 2019 Apr 19. doi: 10.1111/1753-0407.12934. |
| Vitamin D status during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A longitudinal study in a multiracial cohort | Xia J, Song Y, Rawal S, Wu J, Hinkle SN, Tsai MY, Zhang C. | Diabetes Obes Metab. 2019 Apr 17. doi: 10.1111/dom.13748 |
| Heightened olfactory dysfunction and oral irritation among chronic smokers and heightened propylthiouracil (PROP) bitterness among menthol smokers | Duffy VB, Glennon SG, Larsen BA, Rawal S, Oncken C, Litt MD. | Physiol Behav. 2019 Mar 15; 201:111-122. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.12.017. |
| Maternal Adipokines Longitudinally Measured Across Pregnancy and their Associations with Neonatal Size, Length, and Adiposity | Hinkle SN, Rawal S, Liu D, Chen J, Tsai MY, Hediger M, Zhang C. | Int J Obes (Lond). 2018 Nov 21. doi: 10.1038/s41366-018-0255-2. |
| Longitudinal Associations of Maternal Vitamin D Status During Pregnancy and Neonatal Anthropometric Measures | Francis EC, Hinkle SN, Song Y, Rawal S, Donnelly SR, Zhu Y, Chen L, Zhang C. | Nutrients. 2018 Nov 2;10(11). pii: E1631. doi:10.3390/nu10111631 |
| Volume-based versus Rate-based Enteral Nutrition in the Intensive Care Unit: Impact on Nutrition Delivery and Glycemic Control | Roberts S, Brody R, Rawal S, Byham-Gray LD | JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2018 Sep 19. doi: 10.1002/jpen.1428 |
| The Relationships between Physical Activity and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Among Women Participating in a University-Based Worksite Wellness Program | Gottesman K, Rawal S, Parrott JS, Byham-Gray LD, Touger-Decker R, Radler DR | J Occup Environ Med. 2018 Sep 4. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001439 |
| First Trimester Hemoglobin A1c and Subsequent Development of Gestational Diabetes | Hinkle SN, Tsai MY, Rawal S, Grewal J, Zhang C | Sci Rep. 2018 Aug 16;8(1):12249. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-30833-8 |
| Lactation Duration and Long-Term Thyroid Function: A Study among Women with Gestational Diabetes | Panuganti PL, Hinkle SN, Rawal S, Grunnet LG, Lin Y, Liu A, Thuesen ACB, Ley SH, Olesen SF, Zhang C | (2018) Nutrients. 10(7). pii: E938. doi: 10.3390/nu10070938. |
| Maternal Thyroid Function in Pregnancy and Risk of Gestational Diabetes: a Prospective Study | Rawal S, Tsai MY, Hinkle SN, Zhu Y, Lin Y, Panuganti P, Albert PS, Ma RC, Zhang C | (2018). The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 103(7):2447-2456. doi: 10.1210/jc.2017-02442. |
| Distinct Prospective Associations between Individual Plasma Saturated Fatty Acids and Gestational Diabetes | Zhu Y, Tsai MY, Sun Q, Hinkle SN, Rawal S, Mendola P, Albert PS, Zhang C | (2018) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 107(6):1017-1026. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy051 |
| Genetic Variants of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: a Study of 130 SNPs among 8,940 Women in Two Independent Populations | Ding M, Chavarro JE, Olsen SF, Lin Y, Ley SH, Bao W, Rawal S, Grunnet LG, Thuesen AC, Mills J, Yeung E, Hinkle SN, Zhang W, Vaag A, Liu A, Hu FB, Zhang C | (2018) Diabetologia. 61(8):1758-1768. doi: 10.1007/s00125-018-4637-8. Epub 2018 Jun 12 |
| Gestational Diabetes and Renal Function: A Prospective Study with 9 to 16 Year Follow-up after Pregnancy | Rawal S, Olsen SF, Grunnet LG, Ma RC, Hinkle SN, Granström C, Wu J, Yeung EH, Mills JL, Zhu Y, Bao W, Ley SH, Hu FB, Damm P, Vaag A, Tsai MY, | (2018) Diabetes Care. 41(7):1378-1384. doi: 10.2337/dc17-2629. |
| Taste phenotype associates with cardiovascular disease risk factors via diet quality in multivariate modeling | Sharafi M, Rawal S, Fernandez ML, Huedo-Medina TB, and Duffy VB | (2018) Physiol Behav. 2018 May 8; 194:103-112. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.05.005 |
| Cigarette Smoking’s Association with Self-reported Smell Alterations: Analysis of the 2011-2014 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) | Glennon G, Huedo-Medina T, Rawal S, Hoffman HJ, Litt M, Duffy VB | (2017) Nicotine and Tobacco Research. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntx242 |
| Dietary Iron Intake, Iron Status, and Gestational Diabetes | Zhang C & Rawal S | (2017) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. pii: ajcn156034. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.117.156034 |
| Structural Equation Modeling of Associations among Taste-Related Risk Factors, Taste Functioning, and Adiposity | Rawal S, Huedo-Medina TB, Hoffman HJ, Swede H, Duffy VB | (2017) Obesity (Silver Spring). 25(4):781-787 |
| Maternal Consumption of Artificially-Sweetened Beverages during Pregnancy and Offspring Growth through 7 Years of Age | Zhu Y, Olsen SF, Mendola P, Halldorsson TI, Rawal S, Hinkle SN, Yeung EH, Chavarro JE, Grunnet LG, Granström C, Bjerregaard AA, Hu FB, Zhang C | (2017) International Journal of Epidemiology. 46(5):1499-1508. |
| Maternal Dietary Intakes of Refined Grains during Pregnancy and Offspring Growth through the First 7 Years of Life | Zhu Y, Olsen SF, Mendola P, Halldorsson TI, Granström C, Bjerregaard AA, Yeung EH, Wu J, Rawal S, Chavarro JE, Hu FB, Zhang C | (2017) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 106(1):96-104 |
| Plasma lipid levels during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A longitudinal study | Bao W, Dar S, Zhu Y, Wu J, Rawal S, Li S, Weir NL, Tsai MY, Zhang C | (2017) Journal of Diabetes. doi: 10.1111/1753-0407.12563 |
| A Longitudinal Study of Sleep Duration in Pregnancy and Subsequent Risk of Gestational Diabetes: Findings from a Prospective, Multiracial cohort | Rawal S, Hinkle SN, Zhu Y, Albert PS, Zhang C | (2017) American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2017 Apr;216(4):399.e1-399.e8. |
| A Validation Study of Self-Reported Gestational Diabetes (GDM) Diagnosis and Treatment | Hinkle SN, Rawal S, Zhu Y, Albert PS, Zhang C | (2017) Epidemiology. 28(5):747-752. |
| A Longitudinal Study of Body Iron Status during Pregnancy and Risk of Gestational Diabetes: Findings from a Prospective, Multiracial Cohort | Rawal S, Hinkle SN, Bao W, Zhu Y, Grewal J, Albert PS, Weir NL, Tsai MY, Zhang C | (2016) Diabetologia. 60(2):249-257. |
| A Longitudinal Study of Depression and Gestational Diabetes across the Perinatal and Postpartum Period | Hinkle S, Louis GM, Rawal S, Zhu Y, Albert PS, Zhang C | (2016) Diabetologia. 59(12):2594-2602 |
| Characterizing and Improving the Sensory and Hedonic Responses to Polyphenol-rich Aronia Berry Juice | Duffy VB, Rawal S, Park J, Brand MH, Sharafi M, Bolling BW | (2016) Appetite. 107:116-125 |
| New Chemosensory Component in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): First-Year Results for Measured Olfactory Dysfunction | Hoffman HJ, Rawal S, Li CM, Duffy VB | (2016) Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders 17(2):221-40. |
| Risk Factors of Gestational Diabetes – Is Prevention Possible? | Zhang C, Rawal S, Chong YS | (2016) Diabetologia 59(7):1385-90 |
| Prevalence and Risk Factors of Self-Reported Smell and Taste Alterations: Results from the 2011-2012 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) | Rawal S, Hoffman HJ, Bainbridge KE, Huedo-Medina TB, Duffy VB | (2016) Chem Senses. 41(1):69-76 |
| The Taste and Smell Protocol in the 2011-2014 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): Test-Retest Reliability and Validity Testing | Rawal S, Hoffman HJ, Honda M, Huedo-Medina TB, Duffy VB | (2015) Chemosens Percept. 8(3):138-48. |
| Sensitivity and Specificity of Self-reported Olfactory Dysfunction in a Home-based Study of Independent-living, Healthy Older Women | Rawal S, Hoffman HJ, Chapo AK, Duffy VB | (2014) Chemosens Percept. 7(3-4):108-116 |
| Baseline Serum C-Reactive Protein and Death from Colorectal Cancer in the NHANES III Cohort | Swede H, Hajduk AM, Sharma J, Rawal S, Rasool H, Vella AT, Tobet RE, Stevens RG | (2014) Int J Cancer. 134(8):1862-70 |
| Do Polymorphisms in the TAS1R1 Gene Contribute to Broader Differences in Human Taste Intensity? | Rawal S, Hayes JE, Wallace MR, Bartoshuk LM, Duffy VB | (2013) Chem Senses. 38(8):719-728 |
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