Briefly, tell us about your background and career up to this point?
I didn’t start out in science at all. My first degree was in Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge, where I became fascinated by human evolution, culture, and how colonialism impacted the diet and health of indigenous populations. A research project studying nutrient supply from the only grocery store on one of the Torres Strait Islands, involving a seven week stay on Thursday Island (Waiben) and visits to other islands, sparked my lifelong interest in nutrition. After an MSc Nutrition degree at King’s, a PhD on protein and appetite regulation at Surrey, and 5 years of postdocs at Surrey and Reading universities, it was back to King’s for my first academic appointment as Lecturer in Nutrition (20 years ago almost to the day, as I write this!).
Since then, I have run many dietary intervention studies to understand how different dietary patterns, foods and nutrients affect metabolism, cardiovascular health, and skin conditions. My career has developed from early beginnings, setting up my first randomised controlled trials in the Metabolic Research Unit here in our department on the 4th floor of the Franklin Wilkins Buildings, to now leading a Department full of brilliant nutritional scientists, dietitians, researchers and educators who are shaping the future of nutrition and dietetics.
What is a typical day like for you?
I like to start with a double espresso and a pint of tea. My kids (16 and 12 y) sort themselves out in the mornings these days, but my diary is still dictated by when I need to take my younger daughter to dance or theatre classes. I have a 1 hour 25-minute journey to the office, including the 30 min walk to the station, but I always get a seat on the train, so it is a good chance to catch up on emails or review documents ahead of the day’s meetings. Working days are filled with meetings with PhD students and staff, teaching/marking, meetings with research collaborators, some external work for the Nutrition Society or editorial duties, and I try my best to keep some time for writing.
What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?
Say yes to exciting opportunities and don’t let the fear of failure stop you trying. Seek out good mentors; most effective educators/researchers enjoy supporting the next generation to reach their full potential, and you will not annoy them by asking. Relish every moment you spend with another person, whoever they are and whatever their role, and learn all you can from them. Finally, stop worrying about what people think of you!
Do you have any current projects that you’d like to tell us about?
My work is increasingly focusing on how we can transition to sustainable, healthy diets that support both human and planetary health, using large cohort studies and clinical trials to understand how plant-rich eating patterns and processed foods (e.g. lower saturated fat margarines, plant-based meat alternatives) relate to nutritional adequacy and long-term wellbeing. Through the FoLSM SSuDs Research Interest Group and the launch of a Nutrition & Industry Knowledge Exchange Group, we’re bringing together researchers, policy makers and food-sector partners to generate practical, evidence-based solutions. Together, we’re rethinking not just what a healthy diet looks like, but how our food systems can adapt to global climate, political and social disruptions, to make nutritious, sustainable choices easy, affordable and accessible for all.
Who inspires you most and why?
Both of my grandmothers. My maternal grandmother, Lilian, was born in 1906 in London’s East End, and my paternal grandmother, Joyce, in 1924 in Surrey; but both were shaped by hardship early in life. Each lost their mother at 13 years old; Lilian spent much of her childhood moving in and out of the workhouse, and Joyce gave up her dream of going to college to be a dress designer to serve in the army during the Second World War. What inspires me is that, despite the instability and limited opportunities they faced, both created warm, secure and supportive families that enabled my parents, and ultimately me and my sister, to thrive. I’m very aware that the chance to contribute to society as a scientist and educator, just two generations later, is built on the resilience and quiet strength of women whose early lives were defined by adversity.
What is your favourite thing about working at King’s?
My favourite thing about working at King’s is the sheer breadth of people and ideas you can connect with. There are so many opportunities to explore new research directions and to learn from colleagues in completely different fields. Their perspectives often spark fresh thinking in my own work. Nutrition is naturally transdisciplinary, and being in an environment where policy experts, clinicians, industry partners and food-systems researchers are all within reach creates wonderfully rich possibilities for collaboration and real-world impact.
What is your favourite part of your role?
Supervising PhD theses is undoubtedly my favourite part of the role. PhD students each bring something unique, and I learn as much from them as they do from me. They bring fresh perspectives and show incredible determination, often while juggling work, family or moving countries to study here. Watching them develop as researchers and then move into impactful careers across academia, industry and government is incredibly rewarding.
QUICK-FIRE:
Favourite book: Room with a View by E.M. Forster. I have been obsessed with the film ever since it was released in 1985, but having read the book subsequently I realised the film is very faithful to the book. It is such a wonderful story. When I was a young girl I loved the romance, and the scenes in Florence and beautiful big Edwardian house in England. Now I also appreciate the finer humour, the social commentary on “class”, education, equality, and the way that Lucy Honeychurch stands up to pompous Cecil, and ends up choosing her own pathway as an independent woman.
Favourite scientist: Dame Wendy Hall! I discovered my namesake by self-Googling (come on, we all do it - and it’s still the quickest way of finding your own staff profile page 😉) Quite rightly she comes at the top of the list of search hits. Dame Wendy Hall (born in 1952) is an inspirational computer scientist who rose from humble beginnings to become a pioneer of web science. Her prescience in championing research at the intersection of the internet, AI, society, and ethics, long before it became such a hot topic, is truly inspiring. For me, and for many others, she stands as an exceptional role model for women in STEM. This is especially striking given how few women went to university in her generation, and the even smaller number who studied mathematics or computer science and subsequently built distinguished academic careers
Your pet peeve: leaf-blowers – such pointless, damaging, noisy machines!
The superpower you would choose if you could: Teleportation through time. I’d love to witness life among the first hominids, see the rise of the earliest civilisations, and experience different eras up to the middle of the last century. Only with a guaranteed return to the present day of course… I have no desire to get stuck in some plague-ridden village in the Dark Ages!