Nutrition Day - 15 March 2012

Prof Martin Wickham, Head of Nutrition, Leatherhead Food Research
Martin is the Head of Nutrition at Leatherhead Food Research. Martin was previously the head of the Model Gut Platform at the Institute of Food Research where his research interests were centred on understanding human gut physiology with particular emphasis on the human response to complex food and pharmaceutical systems. He is a BBSRC/ Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellow, has a PhD from the University of East Anglia and has an MBA from the University of Dundee. Martin also holds a visiting Professorship at the Pharmaco-Biological Department, University of Messina, Italy and an Adjunct Faculty Position at The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, NZ.

Dr Paul Berryman, Chief Executive, Leatherhead Food Research
Dr Berryman was appointed Chief Executive of Leatherhead Food Research on 1st January 2008, following two years as Leatherhead’s Research Director. A Chartered Chemist and Biologist, he has 30 years' experience in food science and food law, working in five different scientific consultancies including the Birmingham Public Analyst Laboratory, Clayton Environmental Consultants Ltd and Hampshire County Council's Scientific and Trading Standards Services. Paul sits on three BBSRC panels including Bioscience for Industry and DRINC – a £12m initiative to fund industry-relevant nutrition research at Universities. He also chairs the Government Chemist Advisory Group which oversees the referee food analysis function of the LGC.

Dr Julian Stowell, Vice President of Scientific Affairs - Danisco Active Nutrition Group, DuPont
Julian is currently employed as Vice President of Scientific Affairs for Danisco’s Active Nutrition group, recently acquired by DuPont. In this capacity he manages the scientific and technical affairs for the group. A primary focus is to develop the scientific documentation necessary to establish health claims on foods under the auspices of recent European (and global) food labelling legislation. Dr Stowell has a background in biochemistry, holding degrees from Birmingham University, the University of Kent and the University of Hertfordshire, all in the UK. He has more than 30 years experience in R&D, manufacturing, commercial and scientific roles in the food and pharmaceutical sectors. Prior to joining Danisco in 1999, Dr Stowell spent 19 years with Pfizer and 3 with Cultor. Additional responsibilities include: board member of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Europe, Chair of the Leatherhead Food Research Health & Nutrition Forum, steering group member of the UK Government/industry collaboration – Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC), Science Committee member of the Sabri Ulker Food Research Foundation in Turkey, past Chair of the Calorie Control Council, past Chair of Danisco’s Health and Nutrition Network and past Chair of the ILSI Europe Dietary Carbohydrates Task Force. In May, 2010 Dr Stowell was appointed as a visiting research professor at the Functional Foods Centre of Oxford Brookes University. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) and immediate past President of the RSM Forum on Food and Health. Dr Stowell’s current interests lie at the interface between nutrition science, government agencies, food manufacturers and consumers with a view to encouraging innovation and good health. His recent publications and interests have focused on digestive health, glycaemic response and health and the role of foods and ingredients in weight management.

Dr Roberta Re, Nutrition Research Manager, Leatherhead Food Research
Roberta graduated in 1995 from the University of Palermo Italy, where she completed a Doctorate in Pharmacy, after which she spent a year at the University of California Berkeley before commencing a PhD in Biochemistry at King's College London at the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases. In 2001 she joined the MRC-HNR as a Survey co-ordinator of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Having spent several years in a research environment, her interest has focused on the investigation of functional foods and their relationship to a number of health related issues.  Prior to joining Leatherhead in 2007, Roberta spent several years working as a Business Manager for a biotech company associated with the University of Cambridge where she gained business and marketing experience.  She is now the manager of the Nutrition Research department which performs human intervention studies for efficacy and health claim substantiation, in the areas of satiety, glycaemic response and weight management as well as routine GI testing.

Sarah Hull, Principal Scientist and Forum Liaison Officer, Nutrition Research, Leatherhead Food Research
Sarah joined the Nutrition & Health department at Leatherhead in 2004, after graduating from the University of Bristol with a degree in Chemistry. She is heavily involved in the forum research programme, both as a project leader and in her role as Forum Liaison Officer. She is responsible for the running of several forum, confidential and collaborative research projects. Her primary responsibilities include organising the Nutrition & Health Forum activities, running Leatherhead’s Human Nutrition Research Unit, including its glycaemic index testing service, and satiety studies.

Sarah Kuczora, Nutritionist: Nutrition Research, Leatherhead Food Research
Sarah is a Nutritionist within Leatherhead’s Nutrition Research team. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science degree from The University of Birmingham in 2007 and completed a Masters in Human Nutrition at The University of Sheffield in 2010. She joined Leatherhead in 2010 and has been involved in running a number of confidential human nutrition intervention studies, responding to Member enquiries and conducting a number of literature reviews. She is experienced in blood sampling and analysis, in particular the use of ELISA for quantification of gut hormones, anthropometry measurements and analysis of food diaries. She is also responsible for the ‘cereal fibre and vascular function’ forum research project.

Sonia Pombo, Senior Nutritionist: Nutrition Research, Leatherhead Food Research
Sonia is a Senior Nutritionist within Leatherhead’s nutrition unit. She graduated in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Molecular Medicine from the University of Sussex and continued on to Kings College London, where she obtained a Master’s in Nutrition. She joined the Nutrition team at Leatherhead in 2008, where she has been involved in a wide variety of nutritional intervention studies. She is a fully qualified phlebotomist and is experienced in blood sampling and analysis of various macro and micronutrients. She is involved in a variety of laboratory and desk based nutrition projects, including practical human nutrition intervention studies. She has extended expertise around the areas of satiety and weight management, including food diary analysis, food composition and anthropometry measurements, and is responsible for a number of forum and confidential studies. She is responsible for the running of Leatherhead’s GI testing service.