THE NUTRITION SOCIETY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Membership Committee
Role
Membership Manager
Alison is responsible for managing all of the membership activities, including supporting the members and maintaining and developing the membership experience.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Committee
Role
Events Officer
Andrea manages the Society's Conference portfolio.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry in the School
Andy Salter is a Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham. He has served as Director of the University's Future Food Beacon. (2022-2023) and as Head of Division of Nutritional Sciences (2006-2009 and 2012-2018). He will be retiring from the University in September 2023, but will continue to serve as Emeritus Professor.
He has worked extensively on the molecular mechanisms whereby diet impacts on lipid metabolism and metabolic disease, particularly cardiovascular disease. In parallel, he has developed a research portfolio looking at the sustainable production of healthy foods to meet the demands of the expanding and ageing global population. As Director of the Future Food Beacon, he oversaw an open research platform working across global food systems to help deliver sustainable food and nutritional security. This included the Future Protein Platform, which performed research into systems for production of novel protein sources (plant, single cell organisms and insects), to assess their nutritional value and to develop their use as human foods and animal feeds.
Andy is a Registered Nutritionist and has served as Secretary and Trustee of the Academy of Nutrition Sciences from 2019 -2023. He has also served as Honorary Scientific Officer and Trustee of the Nutrition Society (2012-2018).
Role
EA to Chief Executive Officer and Trustees
Anne is responsible for supporting the day-to-day work of the CEO and all the Society Governance meetings. In addition, she has responsibility for supporting a range of internal and external Society projects and events.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Publications Committee
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
- Member of Publications Committee
Role
Science Director
Cassandra is responsible for the Society's academic publications, the scientific programmes portfolio and scientific and external ensuring an integrated approach across the Society's activities. She contributes to the Society's strategic and operational planning, being a member of the senior management team.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
- Senior Lecturer
Dr Greg Lessons is a registered nutritionist who has a full time professional role with the Fire Fighters Charity as Health Improvement Lead. This involves developing, implementing and evaluating educational resources and behavioural change interventions for the benefit of the UK fire service community. His unique academic and professional background have prepared Greg perfectly for this role, as his MSc and PhD research resulted in the first UK fire station-based nutrition interventions, the first dietary assessment tool validated for UK firefighters and the first firefighter body composition reference charts.
Dr Anne Moorhead is a Senior Lecturer in Health Communication at Ulster University. She has a MSc Human Nutrition and a PhD Biomedical Sciences (Nutrition); and is a Registered Nutritionist, Public Health (RNutr), Chartered Scientist (CSci), and Accredited Healthcare Communicator. She has experience working in clinical and consultancy in the areas of public health and mental health. Anne's research interest is in healthcare communication, in particular communication technologies in healthcare in the areas of mental health and obesity. She has led interdisciplinary national and international research projects and teams, secured research funding and achieved extensive publications including research papers, reports and book chapters. She has completed various civic activities over many years, worked with numerous organisations and community partners in the area of public health locally and nationally. She has numerous global networks, working with universities, clinical partners, and industries in Ireland, the UK, Europe and America. She is a Board member and Section Editor for the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the leading e-health peer-reviewed journal, and a Board member for the Journal, Patient Education and Counselling. She is a reviewer for various international journals and funding organisations and is currently a member of several funding panels including Horizon 2020. She has supervised and is currently supervising numerous PhD students, including being a PhD examiner. She is a member of several external committees, including the research committee for the International Association for Communication in Healthcare, also the Vice Chair of the NHS Research Ethics Committee, Office of Research Ethics Committees for Northern Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
For a full history please read ‘The History of the Nutrition Society' by Alice M Copping in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (vol 37, issue 02 Sept 1978, pp105-139) or read ‘Foundation of the Nutrition Society' from Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
(vol 1, issue 1-2 Mar 1944, pp1-6). For stories and recollections of elected Presidents and Honorary Members of the Society between 1941 and 2021 read our Anniversary Books.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Committee
Role
Theme Lead - Novel nutrition research methodologies and technologies
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Committee
Role
Theme Lead - Nutrition in the treatment, management and prevention of disease
Dr Oonagh Markey (BSc (Hons), PhD, RNutr) is a Senior Lecturer in Nutritional Sciences within the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Reading.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Membership Committee
- Head of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Department at Ziauddin University Karachi
Role
Representative for Low and lower middle income countries
Dr Rubina Hakeem is currently serving as the Chief Nutritionist and Head of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Department at Ziauddin University Karachi . She has earlier served as the Principal and Professor of Nutrition, at Raana Laiqat Ali Khan College of Home Economics, Karachi and as Professor at Taibah University, Madinah Saudi Arabia for three years. She is a fellow of Association for Nutrition UK. Fellow of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is registered as dietitian with health professions council UK. She got her masters from Karachi University and Doctorate from University of London UK. She is a founder member and ex-President of Pakistan Nutrition and Dietetic Society. Chairperson of Nutrition foundation of Pakistan, Member of: British Dietetic Association, World Public Health Nutrition Association, International federation of Home Economics, Diabetes in Asia Study group.
She has received several awards in recognition of her services to the field of nutrition, diabetes, higher education, and research.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Dr. Gary Mendoza's background is in personal training. Gary holds both British and American qualifications in personal training. He represented GB at the first ever IDEA personal trainer's convention in Washington USA. Whilst working as a personal trainer (PT) he studied nutrition, graduating with a first in Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Wales. He moved into training trainers and developed a successful nutrition and weight management course; teaching PT's the skills required to deliver a successful weight management programme. These skills include nutrition, activity and behaviour change. This course formed the basis of his doctoral research. In 2006 he was awarded a PhD in nutrition, specialising in a multi-dimensional treatment for overweight and obese males. A big part of this research looked at the psychology of change. Gary has since undertaken further training in Motivational Interviewing (MI) and was fortunate to be trained by Professors Stephen Rollnick and William Miller, the founders of MI.
Gary's other area of expertise is sports nutrition. He was programme leader for sports nutrition and advanced sports nutrition at Massey University in New Zealand and trained with Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA). Gary lectures in nutrition for sport and exercise at Bath Spa and Cardiff Metropolitan Universities and is an Academic Associate member of the SENr. He is director of Stages of Change Ltd and delivers the Behaviour Change Workshop; this workshop teaches personal trainers sound behavior change principals. Gary is passionate about raising the standard of nutrition education and behavior change understanding in the leisure industry. He wants the industry to move to a more evidence-based style of nutrition and behavior change education and wants trainers to be able to deliver effective and safe nutrition and weight loss programmes that help clients make the necessary lifestyle changes required.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Membership Committee
- Honorary Membership Officer, Professor
Job Titles:
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
- Professor
Dr Emilie Combet is a senior lecturer in nutrition at the University of Glasgow. She joined the University in 2005, following a PhD at Horticulture Research International (HRI, Wellesbourne UK). Her research focuses on foods, nutrition and the life cycle, with special interest on stress (ageing, nitro/oxidation, obesity and inflammation), the "farm to fork to society" nexus and its implications for all stakeholders (community, industry and clinical settings).
Her group's work has contributed toward establishing innovative solutions to explore the contribution of diet on lifelong health, including near-market research (reformulated meals, use of novel ingredients) to answer challenges to the nutritional status. She has contributed to television series focusing on diet and nutrition. In 2018, she was the recipient of a British Science Association media fellowship, leading to a placement at The Herald.
Role
International Support Administrator
Farima supports the Society's international secretariat portfolio as an administrator and plays an essential role in supporting the daily operations. Her responsibilities include managing schedules, arranging meetings, and handling correspondence. She ensures the smooth flow of information within the Secretariat. She also assists in preparing reports and coordinating projects. She is a crucial point of contact for both internal and external stakeholders, facilitating communication and ensuring that the Secretariat functions seamlessly.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Committee
- Member of the Training Committee
Role
Science Manager
Jade is responsible for developing and managing the Society's scientific progammes, including the Training Academy's programme and the annual conference portfolio.
Juliette assists the Science Director in the development, maintenance and use of digital channels and content for stakeholder communications and engagement. She is the Society's in-house designer and supports the implementation of the Society's strategic objectives, the Strategic Communication and the Social Media Strategy. Juliette supports the development and delivery of communication materials (digital and print) for all departments of the Society and provides communications support to the International Secretariats.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
- Chief Scientific Officer at the Food and Drink
Job Titles:
- Member of the Membership Committee
Role
Membership and Database Support Officer
Luwam assists the Membership Manager in the day to day administration of the membership department of the Society, liaising with members, resolving any issues that arise in the process of members joining and renewing and ensuring that members have access to their benefits. Many of these tasks require work on the database to ensure that the members data held is accurate and up-to-date, and that information is there for other members of the team to utilise.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Role
Training Officer
Luwam is responsible for running the Nutrition Society Training Academy's (NSTA) day to day activity. She ensures the successful delivery of webinars and workshops on behalf of the Training Committee and provides support to the Scientific Programmes Manager to develop the Academy programme.
Luwam also provides support to the Programme Team in delivering collaborative events between conferences and the Academy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Publications Committee
- Associate Professor of Medicine, GI Division
M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril, Ph. D. is Associate Professor of Medicine, GI Division in the School of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill. She is also the founding and current Director of the UNC Microbiome Core, which provides research and technical support to investigators interested in addressing the roles of the host-associated microbiota in health and disease.
Dr. Azcarate-Peril is a microbiologist by training and has extensive experience in the characterization of complex microbial populations and functional metagenomics using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods including Next Generation Sequencing. Her research projects have focused on functional genomics of probiotics and gut microbiome modulation by prebiotics for over 20 years, resulting in over 65 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Azcarate-Peril's current projects aim to define modulators of the gut microbiome capable of reversing dysbioses induced by age, diet and nutritional behaviors. She is particularly interested in prebiotics and application-directed probiotics to address and prevent gastrointestinal disorders.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
Maria Balhara's primary research interests are in medicine and nutrition. Her current focus includes exploring interventions for reducing intake of ultra-processed foods to manage modifiable cardiovascular and endocrine health risk factors, investigating disordered eating behaviors among adolescents, studying molecular mechanisms underlying congenital heart disease with implications for personalized medicine approaches, and developing interventions to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition among vulnerable populations. Maria is an active member of several organisations dedicated to these fields of study, including The Nutrition Society, American Heart Association, and Endocrine Society. She also serves on the Pathway Core Committee at Broward College where she is a dual-enrollment student.
Role
Finance Manager
Marie is responsible for ensuring the finances of the Society are accurate, and suppliers are communicated with when paying invoices and reconciling accounts. Marie works directly with the CEO and all members of the Society's team.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Company Secretary
- Member of the Membership Committee
- Member of the Publications Committee
- Member of the Science Committee
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
- Member of the Training Committee
- Member of Publications Committee
Role
Chief Executive Officer
Mark Hollingsworth is Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary of The Nutrition Society and its subsidiary Trading Company. He is responsible for managing the affairs of the Society for the benefit of members at the direction of the Trustee Board.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Membership Committee
- Member of the Publications Committee
- Member of the Science Committee
- Member of the Strategic Communications Committee
- Member of the Training Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Membership Committee
- Professor of Nutrition
Mary Yannakoulia is a Professor of Nutrition and Eating Behaviour in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Training Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Publications Committee
- Member of the Science Committee
- Professor of Nutrition at Newcastle University
Tom Hill is Professor of Nutrition at Newcastle University. His research and teaching specialisms fall under four broad areas: nutrition in very-old age, micronutrients and health, food and health and biofortification strategies. Ongoing RCUK funded projects include:
Role
International Support Officer
Tracy is responsible for the Society's international secretariat portfolio, overseeing the governance and administration of several international nutrition organisations. With a keen eye for detail and strong project management skills, she ensures smooth operations. Her responsibilities include managing staff, coordinating meetings, maintaining confidential records, and acting as a liaison between stakeholders, facilitating effective communication. She contributes to the Society's strategic and operational planning as a senior management team member.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Committee
Wendy Hall, BA (Hons), MSc, PhD, RNutr, is a Professor of Nutritional Sciences within the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London. She completed her PhD (2001) on amino acids and appetite regulation at the University of Surrey where she stayed for another 2 years to research vitamin E metabolism. Following 3 years as a postdoctoral researcher at University of Reading, working on cardiometabolic effects of soy isoflavones and unsaturated fatty acids, Wendy was appointed to an academic post at King's College London in 2005.
Wendy's research utilises clinical trials and observational study designs to investigate cardiometabolic disease risk and related conditions such as inflammatory skin disorders, as well as sleep-diet interactions and health. Ongoing projects include investigation of diet-health associations in menopause; comparisons of fatty acids effects on cardiovascular health outcomes; a potassium-rich dietary intervention to investigate effects on sleep quality, nocturnal glycaemia and blood pressure; a Mediterranean dietary intervention in people living with psoriasis; and investigations into associations between diet and psoriasis severity/incidence using the UK Biobank database. Wendy has authored >100peer-reviewed publications and was awarded the Nutrition Society's Silver Medal in 2016.
Wendy served as NS Theme Lead for Whole Body Metabolism/Nutrition and Optimum Life Course from 2018 to 2023. She is Deputy Editor for British Journal of Nutrition and section editor for European Journal of Nutrition, and sits on the editorial board for the Nutrition Bulletin. She is a founder member of the NS Workplace Diet and Health Nutrition Society Special Interest Group.