Talks and Workshops
Since I was a child I have always been interested in food and fitness. From a very young age I used to swim competitively and played football in various girls and ladies teams. Because of all this activity I needed a lot of food and had to ensure I had all the right nutrients, at the right time. With the attention and guidance of an amazing Mum, each meal always contained a protein source, a nutrient dense carbohydrate source, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Variety and herbs and spices were important to ensure boredom was kept at bay. Without knowing it she devised the perfect pre and post workout nutrition plan! Therefore this became my “normal”, a lifestyle not a diet, not a chore but my passion! This is what I want to share with everyone.
I have been a Personal Trainer and nutritionist for 14 years now. My previous career as a Scientist gave me the tools to guarantee my clients get the results they desire in the fastest, safest way. I have experience working with people suffering from many aliments, such as Crohn’s, inflammatory bowel, coeliac disease, arthritis, cancer, hypothyroidism and diabetes. For such illnesses, diet is particularly important; especially when coordinating various medications. In such cases I will work with the client’s doctor and/ or dietician to ensure safety. I originally qualified with a BSc in Genetics and followed this with a MSc in Bioinformatics (computer programming designed to analyse huge amounts of biological data). While completing my MSc and thesis (A Phylogenetic Approach to Assessing the Significance of Missense Mutations in Diseased Genes), I worked as a lecturer teaching genetics and biochemistry to the 3rd year undergraduate computer science students who were doing the bioinformatics modules. After university I moved to Australia to work for their first Bioinformatics company, managing their marketing as well as working on their numerous educational resources. This required a high level of communication and teaching skills including explaining various fields of science to scientists in other fields, educating geneticists about how our software could assist their data analysis, and explaining to software developers how and why we needed to analyse DNA and proteins. Why is this important? In my nutrition workshops I aim to explain the latest scientific research in an easy to understand format for the non-scientist. My hope is to make these fascinating and important subjects more accessible for everyone and motivate people to improve their health and well-being through delicious food!
