Nutrition, food and health

Nutrition Food 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

Dr Suzanne Barr
Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow

Professor Sir Steve Bloom
Head of Division for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism

Dr Edward Chambers
Research Fellow - Dietary Fibre and Health

Professor Waljit Dhillo
Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Professor Jorge Ferrer
Chair in Medicine and Genetics

Professor Philippe Froguel
Chair in Genomic Medicine

Professor Gary Frost
Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics

Dr Isabel Garcia Perez
Lecturer in Precision & Systems Medicine

Dr James Gardiner
Reader in Molecular Physiology

Professor Nigel Gooderham
Professor of Molecular Toxicology

Dr Saira Hameed
NIHR Clinical Lecturer

Dr Aylin Hanyaloglu
Senior Lecturer

Professor Ailsa Hart
Professor of Practice

Professor Elaine Holmes
Professor of Chemical Biology

Dr Channa Jayasena
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Endocrinology

Professor Desmond Johnston
Vice Dean (Education) for the Faculty of Medicine

Dr Aaron M. Lett
Research and Teaching Fellow

Dr Jia Li
Lecturer in Human Development and Microbial Signalling

Professor Adrian Lim
Consultant Radiologist

Professor Julian Marchesi
Professor of Digestive Health

Dr Alexander Miras
Clinical Senior Lecturer

Professor Kevin Murphy
Professor of Endocrinology & Metabolism

Professor Jeremy Nicholson
Chair in Biological Chemistry, Head of Department

Professor Nicholas Oliver
Wynn Chair in Human Metabolism (Clinical)

Dr Bryn Owen
Non-Clinical Lecturer in Endocrinology & Investigative Medicine

Dr Joram Posma
Lecturer in Cancer Informatics

Professor Guy Rutter
Chair in Cell Biology and Head of Cell Biology

Dr Victoria Salem
NIHR Clinical Lecturer

Dr Jonathan Swann
Reader in Microbiomics and Human Development

Dr Tricia Tan
Consultant in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine

Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson
Professor of Translational Medicine

Professor Mark Thursz
Professor of Hepatology

Kevin Walsh
Research Postgraduate

Professor Julian Walters
Professor of Gastroenterology

Dr Laura Barter
Senior Lecturer and Royal Society University Research Fellow

Dr Nick Brooks
Research Lecturer, Chemistry

Professor Tony Cass
Professor of Chemistry

Professor Oscar Ces
Professor in Chemistry

Dr Ian Gould
Reader in Computational Biology

Professor David Klug
Professor of Chemical Biology

Professor Alan C Spivey
Professor of Synthetic Chemistry

Professor Ed Tate
Professor of Chemical Biology

Dr Rudiger Woscholski
Reader in Chemical Biology

Professor Sophia Yaliraki
Professor of Theoretical Chemistry

Mr Duncan Boak
Manager of the Centre for Engagement & Simulation Science

Dr Benny Lo
Non-Clinical Lecturer in Medical Robotics

Dr Dagfinn Aune
Research Associate

Dr Amanda Cross
Reader in Cancer Epidemiology

Dr Lesley Drake
Executive Director - Partnership for Child Development

Professor Paul Elliott
Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine

Dr Chris Gale
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Neonatal Medicine

Dr Rachel Gibson
Research Dietitian and Teaching Fellow

Dr Lesley Hoyles
MRC Intermediate Fellow in Data Science

Professor Neena Modi
Professor of Neonatal Medicine

Dr Linda Oude Griep
Junior Research Fellow

Professor Elio Riboli
Director, School of Public Health

Dr Sonia Saxena
Reader in Primary Care

Dr Alex Shaw
Research Associate

Dr Mireille B Toledano
Reader in Epidemiology

Dr Konstantinos Tsilidis
Senior Lecturer in Cancer Epidemiology

Professor Andrew Bush
Professor of Paediatric Respirology

Professor Adnan Custovic
Clinical Chair in Paediatric Allergy

Dr Ramzi Khamis
Consultant Cardiologist

Professor Claire Shovlin
Professor of Practice (Clinical and Molecular Medicine)

Professor Philippe Steg
Professor of Cardiology

Dr Paul Turner
Clinical Senior Lecturer - Paediatric Allergy & Immunology

Professor David Wood
Garfield Weston Professor

Professor David Carling
Professor of Biochemistry

Professor Irene Miguel-Aliaga
Professor of Genetics and Physiology

Dr Raheelah Ahmad
NIHR Knowledge Mobilisation Fellow

Dr Lucas Black
Facility Manager of the NIHR BRC Imaging and FACS Core Facility

Professor Margaret Dallman
Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships) and Professor of Immunology

Professor Paul Freemont
Chair in Protein Crystallography

Professor Alison Holmes
Professor of Infectious Diseases

Professor Beata Kampman
Professor of Paediatric Infection & Immunity

Dr Kirsty Le Doare
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Diseases

Professor Michael Levin
Chair in Paediatrics & International Child Health

Dr Elizabeth Powell
Clinical Research Fellow

Dr Kathleen Sim
Honorary Clinical Research Fellow

Professor Rob Wilkinson
Professor in Infectious Diseases

Professor Tom Williams
Chair in Haemoglobinopathy Research

Dr Tony Goldstone
Senior Clinical Research Fellow

Dr Adam Hampshire
Senior Lecturer in Restorative Neurosciences

Professor Paul Matthews
Edmond and Lily Safra Chair and Head of Brain Sciences

Dr Anna C Need
Lecturer in Neuropsychiatric Genetics

Imperial College London

Latest News

Centre for Translational Nutrition and Food Research

Nutrition, food and health

Theme lead

Professor Gary Frost

Nutrition, food and health

Theme lead

Professor Gary Frost

Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

Dr Suzanne Barr

Professor Sir Steve Bloom

Dr Edward Chambers

Professor Waljit Dhillo

Professor Jorge Ferrer

Professor Philippe Froguel

Professor Gary Frost

Dr Isabel Garcia Perez

Dr James Gardiner

Professor Nigel Gooderham

Dr Saira Hameed

Dr Aylin Hanyaloglu

Professor Ailsa Hart

Professor Elaine Holmes

Dr Channa Jayasena

Professor Desmond Johnston

Dr Aaron M. Lett

Dr Jia Li

Professor Adrian Lim

Professor Julian Marchesi

Dr Alexander Miras

Professor Kevin Murphy

Professor Jeremy Nicholson

Professor Nicholas Oliver

Dr Bryn Owen

Dr Joram Posma

Professor Guy Rutter

Dr Victoria Salem

Dr Jonathan Swann

Dr Tricia Tan

Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson

Professor Mark Thursz

Kevin Walsh

Professor Julian Walters

Department of Chemistry

Dr Laura Barter

Dr Nick Brooks

Professor Tony Cass

Professor Oscar Ces

Dr Ian Gould

Professor David Klug

Professor Alan C Spivey

Professor Ed Tate

Dr Rudiger Woscholski

Professor Sophia Yaliraki

Department of Surgery and Cancer

Mr Duncan Boak

Dr Benny Lo

School of Public Health

Dr Dagfinn Aune

Dr Amanda Cross

Dr Lesley Drake

Professor Paul Elliott

Dr Chris Gale

Dr Rachel Gibson

Dr Lesley Hoyles

Professor Neena Modi

Dr Linda Oude Griep

Professor Elio Riboli

Dr Sonia Saxena

Dr Alex Shaw

Dr Mireille B Toledano

Dr Konstantinos Tsilidis

National Heart and Lung Institute

Professor Andrew Bush

Professor Adnan Custovic

Dr Ramzi Khamis

Professor Claire Shovlin

Professor Philippe Steg

Dr Paul Turner

Professor David Wood

Institute of Clinical Sciences

Professor David Carling

Professor Irene Miguel-Aliaga

Department of Infectious Disease

Dr Raheelah Ahmad