Research
Emma has a strong research track-record with over 50 academic journal articles and book chapters published in food, nutrition, epidemiological and biomedical sciences. She regularly presents at academic conferences and public forums, in Australia and internationally, on her research.
She leads her own research group at the University of Newcastle, which focuses on gene-nutrient-environment interactions. She hopes that by determining these interactions, that we can better understand how everyone can eat-well for a long and healthy life, using nutrition to both help prevent and treat disease.
Emma has diverse research skills ranging from molecular biology and genetics, through to epidemiology, surveys and cohort studies.
Areas of interest include:
Nutrigenetics - How the unique genes we have change the way we choose, taste, digest, metabolise and utilise foods & nutrients.
Nutrigenomics & nutritional epigenetics - How nutrients are involved in switching genes on and off in the body, and how this relates to health & disease.
Gene-nutrient environment interactions - how our lifestyle exposures like sun light, gut or oral microbes influence our nutrient status or gene expression.
Food choice, perception & behaviour - why we choose the foods we do, and how can we use this information to help people make better choices. This includes a focus on taste.