Dr Gemma Walton, INFORM Hub Principle Investigator
Gemma is an Associate Professor in Metagenomics at the University of Reading and her research is focused on the role of bacteria in health and disease. She has worked on several in vitro models of the gut of humans and animals to determine the impact of foods, prebiotics and pharmaceutical ingredients on the microbiota. Gemma has been involved in many human intervention studies on novel prebiotics and looking at impact in healthy and atypical populations. Gemma has supervised and co-supervised 10 PhD students to completion and is currently involved in the supervision of 6 others. She is well published in the area and has over 60 manuscripts to date. As a scientific advisor on the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Human Microbiome, this provides the opportunity for communicating with Parliamentarians about research into the gut microbiota and the impact on health. As the lead investigator of INFORM, Gemma will work on bringing together industrialists and academics to bridge knowledge gaps in how the microbiota can aid recovery.
Professor Kieran Tuohy, INFORM Hub Co-Investigator
Professor Kieran Tuohy is a professor of energy metabolism and microbiome at the University of Leeds. He is a microbiologist working in the field of nutrition, food science and biotechnology and research is focused on how microbiomes both within the gut and along the food chain impact on human/animal nutrition, health and disease risk. He received his PhD from the University of Surrey (UK) in 2000 after graduating from University College Dublin, Ireland (BSc, Industrial Microbiology) and from the University of Aberdeen (MSc in Environmental Microbiology). After training as a post-doctoral researcher Kieran was appointed lecturer in Food Metabonomics at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Reading. Kieran led the Nutrition and Nutrigenomics Group at the Fondazione Edmund Mach in Trento, Italy between 2010- 2022 and in February 2022 was appointed chair in Energy Metabolism and Microbiome at the School of Food Science & Nutrition, University of Leeds, UK.
Kieran is an associate editor at the European Journal of Nutrition, a visiting Professor at Ulster University (UK), and a co-chair of ILSI Europe task force on Health Benefits Assessment of Foods. Kieran has supervised 14 PhD students and line managed 5 post doctoral researchers and his publication record includes over 190 international peer reviewed articles and book chapters in the areas of food chain microbiomes, nutrition, gut microbiology and diet microbiome interactions.
Lorraine Bailey, INFORM Hub Knowledge Exchange Fellow
Lorraine is a registered dietitian with degrees and postgraduate qualifications in public health nutrition (BSc, MSc), food regulatory affairs, nutrition in health and disease from ETH Zurich in Switzerland and a MBA from the University of London. She was a nutrition innovation manager for a UK SME and a nutrition executive for the Food and Drink Federation before working at the Nestlé Research Centre in Lausanne Switzerland and more recently at the World Health Organisation supporting nutrition and food safety internal partnerships.
As the INFORM Hubs knowledge exchange fellow she will facilitate the building of a multidisciplinary and diverse community of academics and industry partners which aim to find solutions towards a healthier nation.
Fiona Lee, INFORM Hub Manager
Fiona has over twenty years of management experience working across the Education sector. She has worked for the past eleven years at the University of Reading managing the operations BBSRC funded projects targeted at upskilling professionals across the AgriFood sectors, The Food Advanced Training Partnership/AgriFood Training Partnership, and more recently has been responsible for establishing quality systems for and EU co-funded project with EIT Food Learning Services.
Fiona is the INFORM Hub manager and will be the first point of contact for enquiries.
Professor Glenn Gibson, INFORM Hub Management Committee
Glenn Gibson is a Professor of Food Microbiology at the University of Reading. After receiving his PhD from University of Dundee and then worked as a research scientist in MRC Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Cambridge later becoming the Head of Microbiology Department in BBSRC Institute of Food Research. Glenn was co-instigator of the prebiotic concept for gut microbiota modulation and the paper which originally coined the term prebiotic (and synbiotic) became the most highly cited publication ever on functional foods. For the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) Glenn was a co-founder and former President. In 2019, he became an advisor for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the gut microbiome, which aims to increase knowledge among parliamentarians on the potential benefits of the gut microbiota and its modulation to improve heath.
Glenn has published 8 books, 515 research papers, >400 abstracts, with >56,000 career citations (h factor = 104) and has co-supervised 80 PhD students, 44 postdoctoral researchers, 142 research contracts, >1000 conference lectures. He is visiting professor at 2 other UK universities and also holds other academic positions overseas. Current research is dominated by gut microbiome interactions and dietary intervention. Both probiotics (live microbial feed additions) and prebiotics (selectively fermented carbohydrates) are studied. He currently researches acute and chronic gut disease, and how these interventions can be influential. This involves initial testing in ‘gut models’ before moving to human intervention studies.
Dr Kirsty Hunter, INFORM Hub Management Committee
Kirsty is a senior lecturer in nutrition, Nottingham Trent University and has a MSc in Human Nutrition & Metabolism and a PhD (stable isotopes for the measurement of human protein synthesis in vivo), both from the University of Aberdeen. Kirsty was a post-doctoral researcher at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen investigating the role of dietary fat on haemostasis. In the Department of Sport Science where she has supervised 14 PhD students, Kirsty headed up the development and validation of two undergraduate courses: BSc Food, Nutrition and Product Development, BSc Exercise, Nutrition and Health, the former in collaboration with, and designed for, members of the food industry. Kirsty has undertaken research with food and hospitality industry, elite and recreational sport, and clinical collaborators including Unilever, Firstkind Medical, London Irish RFC, Center for Havening Research and Training Inc., Clasado Biosciences, Croda Healthcare, a range of community Food Aid organizations, and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
Kirsty’s research interest in the gut microbiome focuses on its contribution to health and performance of athletes, those of low socioeconomic status, and older adults and she is a member of the Business in the Community East Midlands Food Poverty Group. Kirsty is a Scientific Advisor to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group: Human Microbiome, and has co-authored briefings to Parliamentarians in the Commons and Lords.
Sue Gatenby, INFORM Hub Management Committee
Sue joined PepsiCo International in 2005 and is Senior Director with responsibility for nutrition science strategy across a diverse product portfolio in Europe and Sub Saharan Africa and also for the Global Snacks Category. She has over 30 years of experience in nutrition research, academia and in the food industry with over 50+ publications focused on nutrition and public health. She holds a BSc & PhD in Nutrition from King’s College London and is a qualified clinical (Oxford) and sports (Loughborough) dietitian.
At PepsiCo, Sue leads a team to deliver evidence-based nutrition science counsel to guide the business towards its performance with purpose goals through product reformulation and innovation in addition to providing scientific support for claims and engaging with key external stakeholders in many fora. She won the Chairman’s Award for her role in the development of the initial set of global nutrient profiling criteria that guide PepsiCo’s product reformulation and development and was a key driver of the PepsiCo UK Health Report published in 2010 which established 5-year commitments focused on nutrition, diet and health. Previously, Sue held positions at the Universities of London & Surrey, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, IFR, IGD and GlaxoSmithKline in addition to a number of consulting positions. During her time at the IFR she was appointed consultant to the UK Government’s Department of Health to develop the original Eatwell Plate. At IGD Sue established the Industry Nutrition Strategy Group in 2003 responsible for leading the work on the development of Guideline Daily Amounts and which continues to tackle significant industry/consumer priorities today. Sue holds a number of external positions including Industry Governor of the British Nutrition Foundation, a Board Member of the European Nutrition Leadership Programme and a member of the BBSRC DRINC Steering Group.