Dr Janet Kyle

Biography

Janet graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a BSc (Hons) in Food Science and microbiology, then gained a MSc(Med sci) in Human Nutrition from the University of Glasgow. After graduating she spent 7 years working as a research assistant, at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen on a series of Food Standards Agency and EU human intervention and supplementation projects investigating the uptake and potential antioxidant/oxidant effects of flavonoids and selenium on human health. During this time she completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen which focussed on dietary flavonoid intake and colorectal cancer risk. On completing her PhD she undertook a Marie Curie Industrial Research Fellowship based at Unilever R&D, Vlaardingen in the Netherlands. In 2005 she returned to Aberdeen to join the Public Health Nutrition Research Group as a Research Fellow in nutrition and to manage the Scottish Collaborative Group Food Frequency Questionnaire service.

In 2011 she moved into lecturing co-ordinating post graduate courses as part of the International Health & Management and Global Health programmes, before returning to Public Health Nutrition as programme co-ordinator for the MSc in Human Nutrition in February 2013 to 2018. Currently, she coordinates the online Masters in Public Health

Research Overview

• Nutritional Epidemiology - investigating the role of diet in relation to disease, my current projects focus on the role of diet in the management of inflammatory bowel disease and cancer.
• Dietary assessment methods and their appropriate application research studies including cohort studies, clinical trials and human nutrition interventions. This is primarily facilitated through the Institute of Applied Health Sciences dietary assessment team which supports and collaborates with multidisciplinary teams of researchers.  
  • This interest includes investigating online and mobile methods of dietary assessment and developing novel food composition databases both within the UK and internationally.
• Community nutrition, understanding the role of dietary interventions in improving health and wellbeing within low-income communities

Current Research

1. Development of nutrient and food portion databases to support calculation packages linked to dietary assessment tools including web-based 24hr recall and food frequency questionnaires. These are for both local and internatonal projects based in Nepal, India and Saudi Arabia.
2. Design and completion of validation studies for food questionnaire questionnaires
3. Food security: maximinising nutirent quality and minimisation of environmental impact of rice production; calculation of environmental impact of diets meeting dietary recommendations.
4. Development of novel nutrititive food composition databases to factilitate the epidemiological assessment of dietary intake and disease risk.
5. Investigating the role of diet in relation to inflammatory bowel disease

Funding and Grants

• Thies et al, Scottish Government, RESAS (coPI) Optimizing intervention strategies via social prescribing as a means of encouraging and enabling healthy and sustainable dietary behaviours in individuals from low-income families (£273,000), until 2027
• Kiltie et al, Friends of Anchor (CoI) The oro-intestinal microbiota as a novel marker for early detection and target for prevention of oral cancer (£15,000), until 2023.
• Lees et al, Scottish Government CSO Office & Crohn’s in Childhood Research Association (co PI) with University of Edinburgh. “The prognostic effect of environmental factors in Crohn’s and colitis” Johnstone, A. & Kyle, J. (£213k), complete 2021.
• Gratz et al MRC development award (coPI) “ Mycotoxin exposure, intestinal inflammation and childhood stunting in India” (£24k), complete 2020.
• MacDiarmid et al, Scottish Government Rural Payments & Inspections Directorate (coPI). Centre of Expertise Climate Change Mitigation Module. (£75k), until 2016.
• Scottish Crucible, co-applicants, Unravelling the impact of dietary iodine exposure on brain structures & cognition in the elderly: a study on a large Scottish cohort’, (£36,000).
• NHS Endowment Fund, Dietary Intake of Inorganic Nitrate and Arterial Dysfunction in CVD patients, March 2011 (£5,500).
• WWF UK, Healthy low impact diets, March 2010, extended to October 2011 and October 2012 (£20,000).
• Marie Curie Industrial Research Fellowship, Jan 2003-December 2005 (€100,000).

Teaching Responsibilities

• Post-graduate teaching within the Institute of Applied Health Sciences: delivering lectures on a range of Public Health Nutrition related topics

• Programme co-ordinator for online Master in Public Health 
• Co-ordinator for following courses:
• Public Health Nutrition

• Contributions to postgraduate teaching:
  • Global Health in Context
  • Challenges in Global Nutrition
  • Assessment of Nutritional Status
  • Foundations of Nutrition
  • Nutrition & Health
•  Contributions to undergraduate teaching
  • 1st year Medicine: Art of Science
  • 1st year Medicine: self selected elective Population Health course
  • 3rd year Sport sciences: 

• CPD Introductory and advanced Short Courses in Dietary Assessment Methods