Nutrition, food and health
The Nutrition, food and health theme focuses on the promotion of good health through food and nutrition and the primary prevention and management of nutrition related illness in the population. Imperial College leads the way in world-class research in nutrition linked to Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Global Health, Diabetes and Obesity through Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Natural Science and the Imperial College Business School.
UK Obesity rates are the highest in Europe with more than 60% of the population overweight or obese. If trends continue 40% of the UK population will be obese by 2025 and this creates a huge burden on the NHS as obesity-related conditions currently cost the NHS on average £5bn a year. Many interventions deployed by health systems have failed to improve healthy behaviour in a sustained way over the life cycle. The vast majority failed to account for the individual genotype specificities and biological environmental factors. Few attempts have been made to systematically link and triangulate different sources of biological, socioeconomic, and behavioural data to look at the overall processes and simultaneously for the interplay of genetic, epigenetic, psychological, behavioural, socio-economic and long-term consequences of an intervention on nutrition and metabolic health.
In order for basic biological research into nutrition to be used to maintain and improve health and wellbeing, it is key to understand how food and nutrition interplay with physiology, preferences, psychology, socio-economic variables, behaviour and policy interventions. Research in the social and behavioural sciences has not yet, for example fully engaged with the so-called ‘epigenetics revolution’ in biology, that is, the growing evidence that differences in genetically identical individuals may be explained by epigenetic alterations in DNA and its accompanying proteins.
Leveraging on the interdisciplinary research at Imperial College we undertake high quality multidisciplinary research at the interface between the social and biological sciences, to develop sustainable strategies fully embedded in the healthcare ecosystem to fight the obesity epidemic, promoting the wellbeing of the population, mitigating its impact on the economy including on the financial sustainability of health systems.
The vision of the nutrition, food and health research programme is to improve the global health through a new understanding of how food interacts with metabolism.
Key Imperial infrastructure: , Surgery and Cancer, National Heart and Lung Institute, School of Public Health, Department of Chemistry, Department of Life Sciences, Centre for African Research and Engagement (ICCARE), Centre for Digestive and Gut Health, Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science
Theme lead
Professor Gary Frost
Professor Frost has an international reputation for his work on the metabolic effect of dietary carbohydrates and the clinical management of obesity. His work was the first to describe that dietary carbohydrate could influence adipocyte metabolism and subsequently whole body insulin sensitivity and the positive effect of low glycaemic index carbohydrate on high density lipoprotein cholesterol. More recently Professor Frosts work has supported the development of the hypothesis that fermentable carbohydrate limits weight gain and has beneficial effects on body composition and neurological signalling.
Further information on Professor Frost
Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction
Dr Suzanne Barr
Dr Suzanne Barr
Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow
Professor Sir Steve Bloom
Professor Sir Steve Bloom
Head of Division for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism
Dr Edward Chambers
Dr Edward Chambers
Research Fellow - Dietary Fibre and Health
Professor Waljit Dhillo
Professor Waljit Dhillo
Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Professor Jorge Ferrer
Professor Jorge Ferrer
Chair in Medicine and Genetics
Professor Philippe Froguel
Professor Philippe Froguel
Chair in Genomic Medicine
Professor Gary Frost
Professor Gary Frost
Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics
Dr Isabel Garcia Perez
Dr Isabel Garcia Perez
Lecturer in Precision & Systems Medicine
Dr James Gardiner
Dr James Gardiner
Reader in Molecular Physiology
Professor Nigel Gooderham
Professor Nigel Gooderham
Professor of Molecular Toxicology
Dr Saira Hameed
Dr Saira Hameed
NIHR Clinical Lecturer
Dr Aylin Hanyaloglu
Dr Aylin Hanyaloglu
Senior Lecturer
Professor Ailsa Hart
Professor Ailsa Hart
Professor of Practice
Professor Elaine Holmes
Professor Elaine Holmes
Professor of Chemical Biology
Dr Channa Jayasena
Dr Channa Jayasena
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Endocrinology
Professor Desmond Johnston
Professor Desmond Johnston
Vice Dean (Education) for the Faculty of Medicine
Dr Aaron M. Lett
Dr Aaron M. Lett
Research and Teaching Fellow
Professor Adrian Lim
Professor Adrian Lim
Consultant Radiologist
Professor Julian Marchesi
Professor Julian Marchesi
Professor of Digestive Health
Dr Alexander Miras
Dr Alexander Miras
Clinical Senior Lecturer
Professor Kevin Murphy
Professor Kevin Murphy
Professor of Endocrinology & Metabolism
Professor Jeremy Nicholson
Professor Jeremy Nicholson
Chair in Biological Chemistry, Head of Department
Professor Nicholas Oliver
Professor Nicholas Oliver
Wynn Chair in Human Metabolism (Clinical)
Dr Joram Posma
Dr Joram Posma
Lecturer in Cancer Informatics
Professor Guy Rutter
Professor Guy Rutter
Chair in Cell Biology and Head of Cell Biology
Dr Victoria Salem
Dr Victoria Salem
NIHR Clinical Lecturer
Dr Jonathan Swann
Dr Jonathan Swann
Reader in Microbiomics and Human Development
Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson
Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson
Professor of Translational Medicine
Professor Mark Thursz
Professor Mark Thursz
Professor of Hepatology
Kevin Walsh
Kevin Walsh
Research Postgraduate
Professor Julian Walters
Professor Julian Walters
Professor of Gastroenterology
Department of Chemistry
Dr Nick Brooks
Dr Nick Brooks
Research Lecturer, Chemistry
Professor Tony Cass
Professor Tony Cass
Professor of Chemistry
Professor Oscar Ces
Professor Oscar Ces
Professor in Chemistry
Dr Ian Gould
Dr Ian Gould
Reader in Computational Biology
Professor David Klug
Professor David Klug
Professor of Chemical Biology
Professor Alan C Spivey
Professor Alan C Spivey
Professor of Synthetic Chemistry
Professor Ed Tate
Professor Ed Tate
Professor of Chemical Biology
Dr Rudiger Woscholski
Dr Rudiger Woscholski
Reader in Chemical Biology
Professor Sophia Yaliraki
Professor Sophia Yaliraki
Professor of Theoretical Chemistry
Department of Surgery and Cancer
Mr Duncan Boak
Mr Duncan Boak
Manager of the Centre for Engagement & Simulation Science
School of Public Health
Dr Dagfinn Aune
Dr Dagfinn Aune
Research Associate
Dr Amanda Cross
Dr Amanda Cross
Reader in Cancer Epidemiology
Professor Paul Elliott
Professor Paul Elliott
Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine
Dr Rachel Gibson
Dr Rachel Gibson
Research Dietitian and Teaching Fellow
Dr Lesley Hoyles
Dr Lesley Hoyles
MRC Intermediate Fellow in Data Science
Professor Neena Modi
Professor Neena Modi
Professor of Neonatal Medicine
Dr Linda Oude Griep
Dr Linda Oude Griep
Junior Research Fellow
Professor Elio Riboli
Professor Elio Riboli
Director, School of Public Health
Dr Sonia Saxena
Dr Sonia Saxena
Reader in Primary Care
Dr Alex Shaw
Dr Alex Shaw
Research Associate
Dr Mireille B Toledano
Dr Mireille B Toledano
Reader in Epidemiology
Dr Konstantinos Tsilidis
Dr Konstantinos Tsilidis
Senior Lecturer in Cancer Epidemiology
National Heart and Lung Institute
Professor Andrew Bush
Professor Andrew Bush
Professor of Paediatric Respirology
Professor Adnan Custovic
Professor Adnan Custovic
Clinical Chair in Paediatric Allergy
Dr Ramzi Khamis
Dr Ramzi Khamis
Consultant Cardiologist
Professor Claire Shovlin
Professor Claire Shovlin
Professor of Practice (Clinical and Molecular Medicine)
Professor Philippe Steg
Professor Philippe Steg
Professor of Cardiology
Professor David Wood
Professor David Wood
Garfield Weston Professor
Institute of Clinical Sciences
Professor David Carling
Professor David Carling
Professor of Biochemistry
Professor Irene Miguel-Aliaga
Professor Irene Miguel-Aliaga
Professor of Genetics and Physiology
Department of Infectious Disease
Dr Raheelah Ahmad
Dr Raheelah Ahmad
NIHR Knowledge Mobilisation Fellow
Professor Margaret Dallman
Professor Margaret Dallman
Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships) and Professor of Immunology
Professor Paul Freemont
Professor Paul Freemont
Chair in Protein Crystallography
Professor Alison Holmes
Professor Alison Holmes
Professor of Infectious Diseases
Professor Beata Kampman
Professor Beata Kampman
Professor of Paediatric Infection & Immunity
Dr Kirsty Le Doare
Dr Kirsty Le Doare
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Diseases
Professor Michael Levin
Professor Michael Levin
Chair in Paediatrics & International Child Health
Dr Elizabeth Powell
Dr Elizabeth Powell
Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Kathleen Sim
Dr Kathleen Sim
Honorary Clinical Research Fellow
Professor Rob Wilkinson
Professor Rob Wilkinson
Professor in Infectious Diseases
Professor Tom Williams
Professor Tom Williams
Chair in Haemoglobinopathy Research
Department of Brain Sciences
Dr Tony Goldstone
Dr Tony Goldstone
Senior Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Adam Hampshire
Dr Adam Hampshire
Senior Lecturer in Restorative Neurosciences
Professor Paul Matthews
Professor Paul Matthews
Edmond and Lily Safra Chair and Head of Brain Sciences
Dr Anna C Need
Dr Anna C Need
Lecturer in Neuropsychiatric Genetics