The UCD Institute of Food and Health has announced the appointment of Professor Eileen Gibney as its new director starting 1 October 2023.

Eileen is a Professor of Human Nutrition graduating with a degree in human nutrition from Ulster University, followed by a PhD from the Dunn Nutrition Unit, University of Cambridge. Eileen held post-doctoral positions at the University of Newcastle and Trinity College Dublin, before joining UCD.

Eileen has broad research interests across the food system. Within personalised nutrition, she investigates responses, including inter-individual variation in response, to nutrition interventions, and develops strategies and innovative technologies for personalised dietary and lifestyle feedback. Her work also focuses on evidence to support the development of sustainable healthy eating strategies across the food system. Eileen has been/is a PI on many national and international projects including Food4me, Food for Health Ireland, Insight and FNS-Cloud.

On accepting the new appointment, Eileen said “I am delighted to be offered the opportunity to continue to strengthen the influence of the UCD Institute of Food and Health both within UCD and externally. Under the excellent stewardship of Prof Dolores O’Riordan, the Institute has created strong partnerships with industry and delivered world-class commercially relevant research in food and health with high-impact results. Providing evidence-based scientific information to make informed decisions and address societal challenges in the wider policy area has also been central to its work. I look forward to working with colleagues to continue and develop our activities, including our excellent communications and outreach programme while strengthening our research capacity to address the current and future challenges within the food systems.”

Congratulating Eileen on her appointment, Professor Helen Roche, the Interim UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Impact said, ”I look forward to working with Eileen on the continued success of the Institute. Eileen's leadership and vision will invigorate the Institute of Food and Health's vision to be a global leader in the scientific discovery that shapes the future of food and health. Her expertise and experience in fostering interdisciplinary research and engaging with  societal stakeholders and policymakers align seamlessly with the ethos of the Institute and its membership and support the research ambitions of UCD.”

Professor Roche also recognised the work done by Professor Dolores O’Riordan during her tenure as Director of the Institute of Food and Health from 2013 to 2023: “Dolores has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to food and health research within UCD. She actively fostered an environment where researchers from diverse fields could converge, exchange ideas, and collectively address pressing global food and health challenges. Under her guidance, the Institute has flourished as a vibrant community. In her role as VP for Global Engagement, I know Dolores will bring the same passion and commitment for success.”

Further information

News story written by UCD Institute of Food and Health

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