About
I am a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology's Appetite and Obesity Research Group. My research focuses on eating behaviour and health, specifically sustainable diets and food systems, health and sustainability benefits of urban agriculture, environmental influences on eating behaviour, food security, and reward-driven eating behaviour. I am also interested in the interplay between nature and environmental quality, diet, health, and well-being. I use a combination of lab-based research methods, large-scale online surveys, Citizen Science approaches, action-based research, evidence reviews, and focus groups in my work.
I was previously a Research Fellow working with the Food Standards Agency, under the Global Food Security - Transforming the UK Food System Strategic Priority Fund. My research focussed on consumer and stakeholder perceptions of urban-grown food and alternative proteins. I used a combination of psychological, social, consumer and data science techniques to explore determinants of acceptance of such foods. Prior to this I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Appetite and Obesity research group, working on the Rurban Revolution project: http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/rurbanrevolution/. This work is focused on the health and dietary benefits of upscaling urban greening and growing, and barriers to achieving this.
My PhD (2017) examined the role of hedonic hunger and food cue reactivity in weight loss. This was part of the WRAP (Weight Loss Referrals for Adults in Primary Care) trial, which investigates the clinical and cost effectiveness of behavioural weight management programmes.
I am happy to hear from potential PhD students in the following areas: Healthy and sustainable diets; Environmental influences on eating behaviour; Health and sustainability benefits of urban agriculture; Connections between nature, diet and well-being.
Keywords: #fixedterm, appetite, sustainable food systems, urban agriculture, obesity, eating behaviour.