Theme Lead Restructure
Following a review of the structure of the scientific Themes, a revised model has been agreed by the Trustees. The current structure has been expanded to four Themes to better support the membership and recognise emerging areas of nutrition research. The Themes will be supported through 'Theme Teams' and 'Special Interest Groups' (SIGs). Each Theme will be led by an appointed Theme Lead.
The Themes exist to promote and support the advancement of nutritional science. The revised structure will support member focused interests, representing a more balanced portfolio and constituency between Theme Leads. The current themes of Public Health Nutrition, Whole Body Metabolism, and Cellular and Molecular Nutrition, will cut across all of the new research themes, acknowledging that Nutrition Scientists will often undertake work within and across multiple themes. To support these networks and ensure effective representation across the disciplines, the new structure will support interdisciplinary working of researchers across scales from molecular to public health, policy and nutrition research methodologies.
The revised themes are:
Nutrition and optimum life course: Defined by activities encompassing exercise & sports nutrition, healthy ageing, weight management, pregnancy/childhood/adolescence; alternative diets such as vegetarianism/veganism; chrono-nutrition; personalised nutrition; gut microbiome etc fall into this space.
Food systems: Encompasses areas including food production, processing, reformulation; organic; food safety and toxicity; food systems and sustainability issues; functional foods and nutraceuticals; novel ingredients; animal nutrition; together with research on hedonics and the physiology of eating.
Nutrition in the treatment, management and prevention of disease: The prevention strand would have some overlap with Theme one, however the focus of this theme would be disease-facing (both communicable and non-communicable) and include foods and nutrients as risk factors for diseases, nutrition in strategies for disease prevention, nutrition in the management and treatment of clinical conditions. This theme would relate to associated disciplines such as dietetics and dentistry.
Novel nutrition research methodologies and technologies: Encompassing the development of methodologies by which nutrition is studied, including innovative study design and research methods, app and virtual approaches, novel data collection methodologies, big data, and novel data analytics. The theme may promote the adoption of technologies from other disciplines to enhance nutrition research. How to critically appraise and evaluate the quality of evidence sits here.
The new Themes have areas of overlap and a strength of the revised structure is the potential for cross talk across the Themes. They provide a focus for research areas and members will be able to join one or more Themes, or SIGs, depending on their research area. Figure 1 shows the revised Theme framework.
Download the Theme Lead Job Description
There are currently no open vacancies
Theme Leads will serve a period of three years, with the option of a further three years if desired.