Dr. El Khoury is an Associate Professor of Applied Human Nutrition in the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph. She has received a BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics and an MSc in Nutrition at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Afterward, she completed her PhD in Physiology and Physiopathology at the University of Pierre et Marie Curie, France. 

She served as a lecturer at the American University of Beirut, and as a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at the University of Toronto. Dr. El Khoury has also worked in the private sector, joining Mead Johnson Nutrition (pediatric nutrition) as Senior Scientist in Global Regulatory and Nutrition Science for approximately two years. Dr. El Khoury is a Registered Dietitian in Canada, and a Licensed Dietitian in Lebanon. She serves as a consultant in scientific health affairs. 

Dr. El Khoury’s research interests have primarily focused on the role of functional ingredients/foods in the regulation of appetite, food intake, glycemia and metabolism in healthy individuals and individuals with nutrition-related disorders including overweight/obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and the metabolic syndrome. Another major research interest is sports nutrition. 

At the University of Guelph, she is working on three lines of research: 

1) exploring novel biomarkers for the metabolic syndrome, and their modulation by functional foods and/or physical activity, both in pediatric and adult populations; 

2) investigating the prevalence and psychosocial determinants of dietary supplement use among university athlete and non-athlete students, gym exercisers and other populations at risk, and designing nutrition education programs to improve knowledge, attitude and awareness on dietary supplements in these populations; and 

3) assessing intake, knowledge and attitude with respect to global food trends such as the plant-based diet and the gluten-free diet.