Lisa Methven

Email:
l.methven@reading.ac.uk
Phone:
+44 (0) 118 378 8714
Job title:
Professor

Responsibilities:

Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research (Agriculture, Food and Health)
Sensory Science Centre

Office

2-40

Building location

Harry Nursten

Areas of interest

Lisa's areas of expertise are food, sensory and consumer science, and particularly how these relate to diet and health. She pursues the following main research interests themes:

Understanding the relationship between sensory perception, food acceptability, diet and satiety; particularly focusing with older adults and children
Understanding how individual differences impact sensory perception and food choice; genotypical, phenotypical, physiological and demographic differences
Understanding perception and acceptability of foods designed to improve health: protein fortification, reduced sugar, fat and salt, and increased phytochemical bioavailability

Postgraduate supervision

Lisa has supervised 14 PhD students to completion as lead supervisor, a further 13 as co-supervisor, and is currently supervising 3 students as lead and 3 as co-supervisor.

Academic qualifications

BSc (Hons)
PhD

Awards and honours

Research Projects as Principal Investigator:

2025-2033 BBSRC FoodBioSystems Doctoral Training Parternship, DLA award (UKRI1330)
2020-2028 BBSRC FoodBioSystems Doctoral Training Parternship (BB/T008776/1)
2022-2024 BBSRC/MRC Food4Years Partnership BB/W018349/1 - Food for added life years: Putting research into action. (Ageing across the life course partnership)
2021-2025 UK lead in JPI HDHL (BBSRC) project FORTIPHY (Preventing the risk of undernutrition by fostering meal FORTIfication and PHYsical activity in older adult)
2018-2019 EIT Food project “SureChoc” with 3 industrial partners
2018-2019 EIT Food project “HealthSnaP” with 4 external partners
2017-2019 BBSRC Priming Food Partnerships grant with 7 Food industry partners, “The Mouth Gut Brain Model” (BB/P023916/1)
2017-2018 EIT Food project “SureBiC” with 4 industrial partners
2013-2013 McCormick Science Institute Project. Total: £ 66,900
2009-2012 Industry funded project on Palatability of Nutritional Supplements
2009-2012 Reading PI on multisite research grant from the New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) programme (cross Research Council initiative): project "mappmal"
2008-2012 Age UK project ‘Improving the Palatability of Food for Older People’

Professional bodies/affiliations

Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology; member of the IFST's professional sensory science group (SSG), Registered Professional Sensory Scientist and Chartered Scientist
Member of European Sensory Science Society (E3S) Children’s Working Group, Taste Working Group and Texture Working Group
British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Scientific Advisory Board
KTN Food Sector Advisory Group
The Food Consortium Collaborative Training Partnership Advisory Board
Scientific Management Team of NAPIC (National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre)