Infuse 5.5 FNCE Special Edition | Page 15

How did your PhD shape your journey?
Tell us about your current research, and why
you chose to focus on gut health.
My PhD was one of the most rewarding things
I’ve ever done. I’d just finished my dietetics
degree with QUT, and got a call on Christmas
Eve (from Maree) offering me a job. It was one
of the best days of my life. I then worked for
a year and a half at the Princess Alexandra
Hospital, and had a taste of research, and
thought, "Yes, this is what I want to do."
I work with Prof Kevin Whelan's group in
the diet and gastrointestinal health. I see
gut health as the future of our health, and
Professor Whelan's group was world-renowned
as experts in that area. But I wanted to move
into areas which would affect more people,
such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. So, that's
one of my main areas of research – looking at
different nutrition-based therapies in IBS.
I launched into my PhD with associate
professor Katrina Campbell and Dr David
Johnson. We looked at whether we could
improve gut health in people with chronic
kidney disease, in a way that would reduce
some of the uremic toxins circulating in
their blood by adding things like pre- and
probiotics. And, excitingly, it was a
positive trial.
I also work on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases,
looking at different dietary interventions.
Another element of my King's research is
looking at healthy people: how to improve
the health of their diet through nutrition
therapies, and how food can improve our
gut health.
Why did you move to London?
interview continues overleaf...
My mentors encouraged me to look outside of
Australia, saying that it's good to go away from
your initial PhD research group, get different
experiences, and then come back. Then I got a
taste of things over here in London, and it was
hard to come back! London is a concentrated
hub of the wellness world, and there are a lot
of entrepreneurs here, so it's inspiring.
© Dietitian Connection
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Infuse | October 2018 - Special FNCE issue