Mulia Nurhasan, M.Sc is an Indonesia based PhD candidate at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, currently working part time on her PhD from home, while doing consultancy for Center for Regulation Policy and Governance (CRPG) Ibn Khaldun University, Bogor. Mulia was primarily trained in fish processing technology at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), where she graduated as National Most Outstanding Student. She furthered her study in Norway in 2006, and was graduated in 2008 as the second best student in the Master of International Fishery Management program from Norwegian School of Fishery Science, University of Tromso.

Mulia worked with UN FAO Tsunami Response Team from 2005-2006, restoring the livelihood of fish traders and fish processors impacted by the disaster. She was among the first national consultant in post-harvest fishery in Aceh, as well as the first woman consultant in UN FAO Fishery team in Aceh. It was after her mission, that the post-harvest fishery sector in Aceh started to gain attention from donors around the world. Upon completing her master degree, Mulia returned back to Aceh and worked with UNDP and UN FAO. In 2009, she brought Aceh fish traders to five countries in Malaysia for training and field visit. The fish traders on training are now re-established and have expanded their business.

In 2010, Mulia started her PhD in Denmark as part of WinFood project, testing the efficacy of fish based complementary food, specifically in whole blood fatty acid content. In this research project, Mulia, together with the WinFood team, sampled blood from 400 Cambodian infants, before and after they were fed with fish based complementary food for nine months. After the intervention study was completed, Mulia conducted an economic study to understand Cambodian’s willingness to pay for the fish-based complementary food, as well as their knowledge on nutrition and child feeding. As a researcher Mulia has published in internationally recognized journal, namely Food Composition and Analysis and Maternal and Child Nutrition. Mulia is fluent in English and Bahasa, with fair understanding in German.

Mulia’s passion is to help the poor and the marginalized people. Her decade of dedication to fishery has been based on her altruism. Fishers and people living in coastal areas are often, the most marginalized, poor and uneducated communities. And fish as well as other aquatic animals are arguably the most available source of protein and fatty acids for the poor. Mulia wishes to use her knowledge in fishery and nutrition to give back to the fishing communities.