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Staff Profile

Dr Andrea Fairley

Lecturer in Human Nutrition and Dietetics

  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 0298
  • Address: School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sports Sciences
    Office 5.12, 5th Floor
    Dame Margaret Barbour Building
    Newcastle University
    NE2 4DR
Background

Dr Andrea Fairley (née McGrattan) is a HCPC registered research dietitian. 


Qualifications:

BSc Hons Dietetics - Ulster University, Coleraine (2008-2012)

MSc Health Promotion and Public Health - Ulster University, Jordanstown (2013-2014)

PhD Public Health Nutrition - Queen’s University Belfast (2015-2018)


Professional Memberships: 

Health and Care Professions Council – Dietitian

The Nutrition Society


Previous Positions:

Post-Doctoral Research Associate - Newcastle University, UK (2019-2021)






Research

ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1521-213X


Background

My main research interests are in the area of healthy ageing, to include risk reduction of cardiovascular and neurocognitive diseases. Specifically, I am interested in the design, development and testing of diet and lifestyle interventions to promote health behaviour change among at-risk populations. I am interested in process evaluation methods understanding the impact and usefulness of complex interventions.


One of my current research projects is focused on the co-design and development of culturally adapted dementia risk reduction resources for individuals from South Asian communities living in the UK.


Previous Projects: Dementia Prevention and Enhanced Care Project (DePEC) - P.I Prof Louise Robinson

The overall objective of the DePEC-Nutrition study is to demonstrate the feasibility, acceptability and the potential to deliver a dietary intervention to increase the consumption in high-nitrate green leafy vegetables and reduce salt intake over a 6-month period among Malaysian adults with raised blood pressure. The objectives focus on the core areas of an intervention study that need to work for the study to succeed procedurally and gather information on the effect size of the intervention on cognition and blood pressure, which will be instrumental in the design and calculation of the sample size of a follow-on efficacy trial.

The DePEC-Nutrition study is a 6 month randomised 2*2 factorial trial including four parallel arms: (1) control, (2) high-nitrate vegetable consumption, (3) low salt consumption and (4) combined high-nitrate vegetable consumption plus low salt consumption. The trial will be conducted among 120 middle-aged and older Malaysian adults.

For more information on the DePEC project, have a look at the project website: https://research.ncl.ac.uk/global_health_depec/


Esteem Indicators

Poster Prize Winner - The Nutrition Society Irish Section Summer Conference 2018

Associate Editor - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (from 31st Dec 2020)

Invited Speaker at BAPEN 2024 - Food Insecurity and Dementia Prevention (Theme: Nutrition and the Brain - a Nutrition Society Led Symposium) (November 2024)


Funding Awards

Better You Ltd. Repletion rate of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D following sublingual and capsular vitamin D supplementation among individuals with sub-optimal vitamin D status - £174,979 (10/10/2024).

Alzheimer’s Research UK (North East Network) Engagement and Involvement Funding - £500 (14/05/24).

Tilly Hale Award: £1995.80 (12/02/24).

FMS Research Excellence Development Award: £702 (03/07/23).

Alzheimer’s Research UK (North East Network) – Pump Prime Funding: £4416 (05/04/23).

FMS Start-up Funding: £5000 (11/11/22).

Alzheimer’s Research UK (Northern Ireland Network) – Pump Prime Funding: £4887 (31/05/18).


PhD Supervision

Fay Shahatah - The association between processed food intake and biomarkers of health and disease in the very old: The Newcastle 85+ study

Bashayr Alzughaibi - An exploration of nutritional inequalities in paediatric and young adult food allergy


Teaching

I am a lecturer in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, contributing to teaching across the Master of Dietetics (MDiet - B401) programme. I also contribute to teaching on BSc Food and Human Nutrition and BSc Nutrition with Food Marketing programmes. 


Qualifications:

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). 


Module leader:

DTC2002 Applied Therapeutic Diets 

DTC4003 Master's Research Project


Module contributor:

DTC1003 Introduction to Dietetics 

NUT2006 Measurement and Assessment of Dietary Intake and Nutritional Status

NUT3011 Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health

DTC3001 Clinical Medicine and Dietetic Practice

NUT3002 Research Project 

DTC3002 Dissertation


Personal Tutor:

I am a personal tutor for students enrolled on the Master of Dietetics (B401), BSc Food and Human Nutrition and BSc Nutrition with Food Marketing programmes. 


Admissions Tutor:

I am admissions tutor for the Master of Dietetics (B401) programme.


Education related funding: 

Newcastle University Education and Place Fund Award -

A collaborative project with representatives from local ethnic minority communities to co-create teaching activities for student dietitians at Newcastle University 

 

Publications