Areas of interest
Dietary assessment methodology; developing and validating objective measures of dietary intake and exposure, including early-life exposure, and examining how the limitations of existing methods (particularly self-report) affect the conclusions drawn in nutritional epidemiology. My research focuses in particular on currently under-utilised specimens (e.g. hair, nail or teeth) and biomarkers (e.g. stable isotope ratios).
Research centres and groups
- Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition.
Background
After my degree and doctorate in Biochemistry from the University of Leipzig, I moved to the UK, working first in the Antioxidant Research Group at King's College London, and a brief time at a CRO, before joining the MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit in Cambridge from 2004 to 2010. I joined Reading in 2010 as a Lecturer, becoming Associate Professor in 2014 and Professor in 2019. My work sits between analytical chemistry and nutritional epidemiology: developing biomarkers that give a more objective picture of what people actually eat, and applying these within large cohort studies to understand diet's role in chronic disease, including cancer. Alongside my academic post, I am also Director of the University's Chemical Analysis Facility.
Academic qualifications
- Diplom Biochemiker – University of Leipzig, Germany
- Doctor Rerum Naturalium – University of Leipzig, Germany
- Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP).
Professional bodies/affiliations
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
