Dr Isabel Potani
Research Fellow
Research areas
Dr Isabel Potani is a global health and nutrition researcher with expertise in evidence synthesis, research methodology, and translating evidence into policy and practice. Her research interests include evidence synthesis methods, maternal and child health and nutrition, and the equitable use of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) tools in research, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Her methodological expertise spans systematic, scoping and rapid reviews, meta-analysis, critical appraisal and certainty-of-evidence assessment, alongside quantitative, qualitative and implementation research. She has led and contributed to World Health Organization (WHO)-commissioned systematic reviews that informed global guidelines on the prevention and management of child wasting.
At the University of St Andrews, her current work focuses on evidence synthesis in public and global health, with broader interests in advancing rigorous and efficient synthesis methods and their application to global health policy and practice.
Selected publications
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Open access
Applying WHO prioritization criteria for moderate wasting: programmatic implications
Potani, I., Tausanovitch, Z., Heymsfield, G., Ritz, C., Cazes, C., James, P. T., Briend, A., Coulibaly, I. N., Khaki, J. J., Manda, G., Potani, O., Berkley, J. A., Bailey, J. & Kangas, S. T., Jan 2026, In: Maternal and Child Nutrition. 22, 1, p. 1-13 13 p., e70152.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
National and sub-national delivery of balanced energy and protein (BEP) supplements to pregnant and lactating women in LMICs: lessons from multi-country implementation case studies
Kissell, M. C., Afsana, K., Askari, S., Byadya, R., Chowdhury, R., Christian, P., de Pee, S., Huybregts, L., Jehan, F., Lama, T. P., Lee, A. C., Mukendi, E. T., Osman, N., Potani, I., Rogers, L., Sethi, V. & Mwangi, M. N., 4 May 2026, In: Nutrients. 18, 9, p. 1-22 22 p., 1471.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Pancreatic enzymes and bile acids alone and in combination for acutely ill, severely malnourished children: a multi-country double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial
Bandsma, R. H. J., Chisti, M. J., Voskuijl, W. P., Ngari, M. M., Mupere, E., Njagi, I., Thitiri, J., Potani, I., Mbale, E., Chasweka, D., Makwinja, C., Eneya, C., Bourdon, C., Mohammad Sayeem Bin Shahid, A. S., Shaima, S. N., Salahuddin Mamun, G. M., Lancioni, C. L., Maronga, C., Lwanga, C. & Atuhairwe, M. & 10 others, , Sept 2026, In: EClinicalMedicine. 99, p. 1-13 13 p., 104110.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Aflatoxin exposure and mortality in acutely ill children: results from the CHAIN network cohort
Xia, L., Wu, H., Saleem, A. F., Mupere, E., Lancioni, C., Diallo, H., Potani, I., Ali, S. A., Voskuijl, W., Chisti, M. J., Shahid, A. S. M. S. B., Timbwa, M., Mwaringa, S., Tigoi, C., Ngari, M., Singa, B., Tickell, K. D., Njunge, J., Bandsma, R. & Ahmed, T. & 4 others, , Jul 2025, In: BMJ Global Health. 10, 7, p. 1-9 9 p., e017375.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Global, regional, and national prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity, 1990–2021, with forecasts to 2050: a forecasting study for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
GBD 2021 Adolescent BMI Collaborators, 8 Mar 2025, In: The Lancet. 405, 10481, p. 785-812 28 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Micronutrient status in children aged 6-59 months with severe wasting and/or nutritional edema: implications for nutritional rehabilitation formulations
Vresk, L., Flanagan, M., Daniel, A. I., Potani, I., Bourdon, C., Spiegel-Feld, C., Thind, M. K., Farooqui, A., Ling, C., Miraglia, E., Hu, G., Wen, B., Zlotkin, S., James, P., McGrath, M. & Bandsma, R. H. J., 1 Jan 2025, In: Nutrition reviews. 83, 1, p. 112-145 34 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Open access
The contribution of minimally invasive tissue sampling compared to antemortem-derived cause of death determination among inpatient child deaths: the minimally invasive tissue sampling in Malawi study
Voskuijl, W. P., Chasweka, D., Lawrence, S., Brals, D., Kamiza, S., Bandsma, R., Berkley, J. A., Mbale, E., Attipa, C., Eneya, C., Huwa, C., Khoswe, S., Moxon, C., Potani, I., Waller, J. L., Diaz, M. H., Walson, J., Ordi, J. & Denno, D. M., 4 Aug 2025, In: Journal of Global Health. 15, p. 1-17 17 p., 04210.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Barriers and enablers to the effective implementation of omics research in low- and middle-income countries
Nacis, J. S., Kamande, P., Toni, A. T., Mudibo, E., Musyimi, R., Popluechai, S., Dailey-Chwalibóg, T., Voskuijl, W., Dable-Tupas, G., Shahid, A. S. M. S. B., Bascos, N. A., Afroze, F., Chisti, M. J., Singa, B., Ngari, M., Tigoi, C., Mhango, G., Freitag, H., Potani, I. & Mukisa, J. & 11 others, , Jun 2024, In: Nature Biotechnology. 42, 6, p. 988-991 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
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Open access
Hepatic mitochondrial and peroxisomal alterations in acutely ill malnourished Malawian children: A postmortem cohort study
Ling, C. M., Sheferaw, T. F., Denno, D. M., Chasweka, D., Kamiza, S. B., Ordi, J., Moxon, C. A., Kats, K., Khoswe, S., Mbale, E., Ziwoya, F., Tembo, A., Attipa, C., Potani, I., Kim, P. K., Berkley, J. A., Walson, J. L., Voskuijl, W. P. & Bandsma, R. H. J., Sept 2024, In: Global pediatrics. 9, p. 1-10 10 p., 100199.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Impact of HIV exposure without infection on hospital course and mortality among young children in sub-Saharan Africa: a multi-site cohort study
Lwanga, C., Aber, P., Tickell, K. D., Ngari, M. M., Mukisa, J., Atuhairwe, M., Brown, L., Mupere, E., Potani, I., Shahrin, L., Morgan, B., Singa, B. O., Nankabirwa, V., Mugambe, R. K., Mukasa, Z., Walson, J. L., Berkley, J. A. & Lancioni, C. L., Dec 2024, In: BMC Medicine. 22, 1, p. 1-12 12 p., 573.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review