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Professor Jennie Macdiarmid

Professor Jennie Macdiarmid
BSc (Hons), PhD

Interim Director
Professor in Sustainable Nutrition and Health

Overview
Professor Jennie Macdiarmid
Professor Jennie Macdiarmid

Contact Details

Telephone
work +44 (0)1224 437125
Fax
fax +44 (0)1224 550925
Email
Address
The University of Aberdeen Polwarth Building 1.069 University Medical School Foresterhill Aberdeen AB25 2ZD

Biography

 

Jennie is a Professor of Sustainable Nutrition and Health and the Interim Director of interdisciplinary challenge Health, Nutrition and Well-being. She gained a BSc (Hons) in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Surrey, during which she spent a year working at the CSIRO research laboratories in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating she worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Food Research (Norwich) and the University of Dundee (Psychology dept) investigating chocolate and eating behaviours. In 1997 she completed her PhD at the University of Leeds (Psychology), after which she spent 18 months working for the International Obesity Task Force in Aberdeen. Before joining the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen in 2006, she worked in department of environmental and occupational health in the medical school. Her research focuses on food and nutrition security and the impact of diets on climate change and land use. This includes understanding how to change dietary habits to be healthier and more environmentally sustainable. 

Qualifications

PhD, Nutrition and Psychology University of Leeds 1997
BSc, Nutrition and Food Science University of Surrey 1991

Latest Publications

  • The impact of climate and societal change on food and nutrition security: a case study of Malawi

    Hall, C., Macdiarmid, J., Smith, P., Dawson, T. P.

  • How important is healthiness, carbon footprint and meat content when purchasing a ready meal?: Evidence from a non-hypothetical discrete choice experiment

    Macdiarmid, J. I., Cerroni, S., Kalentakis, D., Reynolds, C.

  • Food and Nutrition Security under Global Trade: A relation-driven agent-based global trade model

    Ge, J., Polhill, G., Macdiarmid, J., Fitton, N., Smith, P., Clark, H., Dawson, T., Aphale, M.

  • The role of healthy diets in environmentally sustainable food systems

    Clark, M., Macdiarmid, J., Jones, A. D., Ranganathan, J., Herrero, M.

  • Self-reported food intake decreases over recording period in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey

    Whybrow, S., Horgan, G. W., Macdiarmid, J. I.

View all Publications

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal

University of Aberdeen Senate committeee (2017-2020)

External

FAO/WHO International Science Committee: UN dietary guiding principles for sustainable and healthy diets (2019-20)

International Union of Nutritional Sciences Task Force on Sustainable Diets (2018- present) 

Scientific committee British Nutrition Foundation (2020- present)

FAO/WHO International Consultation Group on Sustainable and Healthy Diets (2018-2019)

BBSRC Global Food Security Science Advisory Group, UK (2017-2020) 

BBSRC Public Panel Steering group, UK (2014-2016)

Scientific Committee for International Sustainable Food Systems and Diets (Daniel et Nina Carasso Foundation, France) (2012-2017)

Prizes and Awards

Excellence award: Principal's Prize for Research & Engagement in Interdisciplinary Research Award (2021).

Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research in Biomedical Sciences Awarded by the University of Aberdeen and Wellcome Trust (2015).

Research

Research Areas

Specialisms

  • Climate Change
  • Nutrition

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Research Overview

Food and nutrition security

Food systems and sustainable diets.

Dietary behaviours, habits and food choices.

 

Current Research

Key research projects:

1.   Dietary behaviours and habits in the context of shifting to sustainable diets with complex social systems: agebt-based modelling (RESAS Scottish Government funding).

2.  DEVIL - Delivering Food Security on Limited Land (Belmont Forum/FACCE-JPI project). 

3. AFRICAP - Agriculture and Food-Systems resilience: increasing capacity and advising policy (GCRF funded).

4.  Sustainable and Healthy diets in India (SAHDI) Wellcome Trust.

 5. Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS), UK, India, South Africa Wellcome Trust 

Past Research

Previous research areas:

Obesity and policy & behaviours

Eating behaviour and chocolate addiction

Occuptional health (long term health impact of diving)

Knowledge Exchange and Public Engagement

Public Engagement: 

BBC (Scotland) Disclosure: climate change documentary (2021)

Café Med  “The route to healthy and environmentally-friendly diets”

Café Controversial “Buy one, throw one out” (public talk)

CPD: using research in ‘real life’.

Collaborations

University of Leeds, UK.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. 

Kings College London, UK.

James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, UK

Met Office

Chatham House

International collaboration, including USA, Australia, Brazil, India, Switzerland, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania.

Supervision

PhD students:

Ndashe Kapulu (2019-present) Soy transition and implications for agri-food systems in Zambia.

Lucy Sam (2016-present) Investigation of domestic food practices and routines, and their determinants.

Charlotte Hall (2014-2019) Environmental consequences of delivering food security.

Renaud Heckle (2014-2019) Constraints and opportunities to integrate beekeeping into mixed farming in Sub-Saharan countries.

Henri de Ruiter (2013- 2017) Implications of meeting a healthy diet for sustainable land use.

Liam McMorrow (2012-2018) An economic analysis of food choice and its associations with health inequalities.

Tania Griffin (2007-2011) SNAK: educational intervention to improve the knowledge of non-milk extrinsic sugars and energy balance among children aged 11-12 years.

Research Funding and Grants

GCRF (2018-2023) AFRICAP - Agricultural and Food-system Resilience: Increasing Capacity and Advising Policy. University Leeds, University of Aberdeen, Chatahm House, FANRPAN, Met Office

Scottish Government (Rural and Environment Research Analysis Directorate) (2017-21) Programme of research on sustainable diets.

Wellcome Trust (2017-2019) Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS). London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Aberdeen.

Belmont Forum/FACCE-JPI International Collaborative Research Funding (2015-2019). DEVIL (Delivering Food Security on Limited Land), International multidisciplinary partnership (8 countries). Led by University of Aberdeen.

Wellcome Trust (2014-16) Sustainable and healthy diets in India. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Aberdeen.

Food Standards Agency Scotland (2012-13) Estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions of the Eatwell week. Aberdeen University. 

WWF-UK (2010) Livewell project: A balance of healthy and sustainable food choices. University of Aberdeen.

Food Standards Agency Scotland (2010-2011). Survey of diet, influences on food choices and eating practices among children in Scotland in 2010. University of Aberdeen

Food Standards Agency Scotland (2007-2008) Secondary Analysis of the Survey of Sugar Intake among Children in Scotland. University of Aberdeen.

Scottish Government (Rural and Environment Research Analysis Directorate) (2009-12) Environmental Determinants of Public Health in Scotland  (EDPHiS) Obesity case study. Unversity of Aberdeen, University of Glasgow.

Health and Safety Executive (2003) Identification of factors affecting quality of life in divers and offshore workers. University of Aberdeen.

Health and Safety Executive (2002) Attitudes to safety culture among divers and offshore work. University of Aberdeen.

Teaching

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

MSc Human Nutrition & Metabolism (University of Aberdeen): sustainable diets & global food systems 

MSc Global Health (University of Aberdeen)

MSc Global Nutrition (on-line course: University of Aberdeen)

Fundamentals of research design

Sixth Century Course on World Food (University of Aberdeen)

Non-Course Teaching Responsibilities

Guest lecture: MSc Human Nutrition (University of Glasgow) 

Publications

Publications 

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