After leaving school I spent approximately 5 years in Israel and the Lebanon working on a Kibbutz and as a volunteer in Lebanon following the 1981 war. After completing a secretarial course I returned to Israel, where I worked as a PA within an International Embassy in Jerusalem. Prior to commencing work at Edge Hill University I was a Learning Disability Nurse for 15 years, working at Greaves Hall Hospital, Ashworth Special Hospital and Bolton Community Team. I have now worked at Edge Hill University since September 2002, initially as a senior lecturer in Learning disability nursing. In 2008 I became very interested in Nutrition and subsequently developed the BSc(Hons) Nutrition and Health programme.
Currently I am Programme Lead for the BSc(Hons) Nutrition and Health Programme and Module lead for: Introduction to Nutrition, Lifestyle and Culture; Professional and Academic Study Skills; Entrepreneurship; Nutrition across the Lifespan; Wider Determinants of Overweight and Obesity and Personal Career Development.
I also still teach on the Learning Disability Nursing Programme, as I consider nutrition to be of vital importance within all areas and stages of life.
I am involved in Clinical Reviews with NHS England.
I am a Registered Learning Disability Nurse and a Registered Nutritionist with the AfN
Research Interests:
My research to date has been within the area of Nutrition in Pregnancy, specifically exploring Midwives knowledge and experience of delivering nutritional knowledge within pregnancy. I have presented my findings at the International Midwifery Conference. I am also interested in investigating the role of Nutrition within primary care as a preventative measure. In my role as a Teaching and Learning Fellow I have been involved within a working group looking at the transition of students from college to University and also within the transitional stages through University study.
More recently I have started to look at the impact nutrition has within children and in particular those who have been diagnosed with ADHD. Including links to mental health.
I am also particularly interested in relation to nutrition in hospitals and the impact poor nutrition can have in overall health, wellbeing and healing.