Previously I completed my masters at the University of Glasgow in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance and have worked at the University of Edinburgh for the past three years on projects with Food Standards Scotland.
My main research areas focus on diet monitoring in Scotland and the environmental impact of diets in Scotland and the UK. previous research of mine has included the Dietary Intake in Scotland’s CHildren (DISH) research report, which is the most recent dietary survey of children’s diets in the UK (2024). This cross-sectional, representative survey found that most children and young people achieved the Scottish Dietary Goals for total fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, and red and red processed meat, but less than 1 in 5 met the Scottish Dietary Goals for energy density, saturated fat, fibre, free sugars, and oily fish.
In addition, I have supported research into modelling the impact of reducing meat and dairy consumption on nutrient intakes, health, and the environment for adults in Scotland, as well as behaviours around red and red processed meat consumption, and meat and milk product consumption in Scottish adults using the Scottish Health Survey. I assisted in work to disaggregate dairy from composite foods, such as dairy desserts or quiches, in UK dietary surveys, where findings illustrate that failing to disaggregate dairy, may underestimate dairy consumption by around 8%. In 2024 I published work with ClimateXChange, Scotland’s centre of expertise connecting climate change research and policy, on understanding the climate impact of food consumed in Scotland. This research examined the current evidence on dietary patterns and their associated emissions to establish baseline understandings of current data and gaps in evidence for the climate impact of food consumed in Scotland.
I am particularly interested in translating research findings into actionable policy to help improve food systems and health outcomes and am excited to bring this interest to the analytical team at the Living Good Food Nation Lab in the coming months. I am currently working on a report on access to supermarkets in Scotland and will be integrating findings into the Local Good Food Nation Dashboard to help relevant authorities to quickly assess baseline measures for indicators of interest as they draft their Local Good Food Nation Plans.