BACKGROUND
I completed a degree in Clinical Medicine with Distinctions, along with an intercalated Diploma in Nutrition and Health Education with Merit. I subsequently undertook a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education, a taught Master of Philosophy Degree in Public Health with Epidemiology, and a Research Medical Doctorate in Nutrition and Cardiovascular Prevention. I have also completed relevant professional body memberships/fellowships by competency assessment.
In over a decade of postgraduate training, I maintained a continued specialist interest in nutrition within hospital medicine and public health medicine whilst receiving training in quantitative and qualitative research methods across several academic domains. These exposures have eventually culminated in the Editorship of the Oxford Handbook of Clinical/Healthcare Research (2016) as well as the Editorship of the Elsevier Textbook of Essentials of Nutrition in Medicine (2023). I have also had formal training in management and leadership (British Medical Association and the Institute of Leadership and Management) as well as social entrepreneurship (Innovate UK).
Please see one of my academic profiles for further information: Fitzwilliam College or NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health.
INTERDISCIPLINARY AND COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH
Since 2019, alongside my core appointment as the Executive Director for the NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, I have continued to hold several linked roles. I am the Founding Co-Chair of the peer-reviewed journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health (BMJ NPH), established in 2018. I also held a fractional academic cross-appointment as Director of Research in Food Security, Health and Society at the University of Cambridge (2019-2021). I am actively involved in the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy Fellowship Programme as well as Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Stemming from my work in Cambridge, I am a lead co-investigator for nutritional aspects of development research in Southeast Asia as well as a senior co-investigator for a Surrey-India GCRF pump-priming initiative. I also serve on the National Advisory Board of the BBSRC Food Biosystems Doctoral Research Training Partnership (2020-2028), spanning a consortium of six UK universities.
Moreover, I hold a fractional appointment as a Full Professor of Global Nutrition, Health and Disease at Ulster University (2019-2022), where within the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Nutrition and Health (NICHE), I co-lead the Nutrition and Vascular Studies Platform and facilitate nutrition intervention studies measuring vascular/endothelial function. Also, at Ulster, I teach a module on Cardiovascular Nutrition across all six-degree courses on Food Science, Human Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics in NICHE. In 2021 I commenced Doctoral Research Co-Supervision for several NICHE PhD studentships and was part of the inaugural teaching team for the newly established graduate Medical School at Ulster University.
Additionally, I continue to hold honorary academic appointments: Honorary International Dean to the Lord Rana Charitable Foundation Trust in Belfast; Visiting Professor at the School of Public Health at Imperial College London; Honorary Professorial Fellow in the School of Medicine at the University of Wollongong Australia; Presidential Advisory Board Member in the School of Advanced Studies on Food and Nutrition at the University of Parma. Within my portfolio, I continue to undertake a weekly session in broader aspects of clinical and public health research/education/practice enabling me to remain connected with the wider healthcare landscape. This includes serving as an Expert Clinical member of the NHS National Research Ethics Service (since 2011), the role of lead tutor for the Clinical Research Ethics module of the Cambridge University Health Partners Research Skills for Clinicians Programme (2019 onwards) and Associate Editorship of Frontiers Public Health Policy.
APPOINTMENTS OVERVIEW
Principal Current Appointments
Founding Chair, Chief Scientist & Executive Director
NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition & Health (Cambridge, UK)
Founder & Co-Chair
BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health (UK)
Founder & Dean
International Academy of Nutrition Educators (UK)
Founder & Director
Founder & Director
Bhavishya Shakti Global [The Mobile Teaching Kitchen International Initiative] (UK)
Founder & Director
The International Food and Nutrition [TIFN] Trust (UK)
Fractional & Honorary External Appointments - UK
’NICHE’ Professor of Global Nutrition, Health & Disease | Vascular Studies Platform Lead & Doctoral Supervisor
TIGR2ESS’ UKRI Global Challenges
Research Co-Lead – Cambridge Global Food Security | Bye-Fellow [Professorial] at Fitzwilliam College | ESRC Doctoral Supervisor
Honorary Visiting Professor in Primary Care and Public Health
National Health Service (England)
Principal Medical Academic Advisor to the Modality NHS Partnership
National Research Ethics Service (England)
Vice-Chair of the Essex Research Ethics Committee of the Health Research Authority
Advisory Board Member for the BBSRC FoodBio-Systems Doctoral Research Programme & the GCRF Latin America Safewater Programme
Nesta - The UK's Innovation Agency for Social Good
Expert Advisory Group Member
Fractional & Honorary External Appointments - INTERNATIONAL
World Food Forum [WFF] of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] (Italy)
Transformative Research Challenge Mentor
University of Parma (Italy) - EU Food for Future Project - [Department of Law] | EU Doctoral Leadership School in Food Sciences [School of Advanced Studies in Food & Nutrition] - Advisory Board Member & Visiting Faculty
Frontiers in Public Health (Switzerland)
Associate Editor in Public Health Policy
Society for Nutrition Education & Behavior [SNEB] (USA)
SNEB Foundation Trustee
The Nutrition Reliance (USA)
Advisory Board Chair
Advisory Board Member
Remedy Clinic Study Group [RCSG] (India)
Academic Vice-President
Editor-in-Chief
Elsevier Essentials of Nutrition in Medicine and Healthcare (2023)
Lord Rana Foundation Charitable Trust (UK-India)
Honorary International Dean & Visiting Professor in Strategy Development at the Cordia Colleges
Key Former Appointments
Lead Clinician
National Diet and Nutrition Survey, UK Health Departments (2013-2018)
Senior Clinician Scientist
UK Medical Research Council, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory Cambridge (2010-2018)
Senior Clinical Tutor and Course Director
University of Cambridge (2015-2019)
NIHR Academic Public Health Fellow
University of Cambridge (2008-2010)
Governing Body Fellow of Wolfson College
University of Cambridge (2015-2021)
Corfield Scholar
Selwyn College, University of Cambridge (2008-10)
Adjunct Professor in Public Health
University of Waterloo, Canada (2015-2020)
Honorary Professorial Fellow
University of Wollongong, Australia (2017-2022)
Eminent Visiting Professor
University of Brunei (2018-2019)
Distinguished Visiting Professor
University of Sao Paolo, Brazil (2019)
Editor-in-Chief
Oxford Handbook of Clinical and Healthcare (2016)
I AM PROUD TO HAVE WORKED WITH
I am proud to have worked with the partners listed here. I have also worked with multinational corporate organisations such as Swiss Re, Nestle and industrial partners. Finally, I have worked extensively with government organisations, including UK Research and Innovation, The National Health Service in the UK as well as other health departments and several United Nations organisations, including WHO and FAO.