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Staff Profile

Emeritus Professor Chris Seal

Emeritus Professor

  • Address: Population Health Sciences Institute
    Faculty of Medical Sciences
    Newcastle University
Background

Positions

1983 – 2018 Newcastle University, Professor of Food & Human Nutrition

2018 – present Newcastle University, Emeritus Professor

Memberships

Nutrition Society; Honorary Fellow (since 2022)

Cereal and Grains Association; Honorary Life Member


Citations to my papers in Google Scholar can be found through this Link Here

Citations to my papers in Scopus can be found through this Link Here [Scopus id 7003779645] 

ORCID id 0000-0001-6313-6691

Research

Research Interests

Effect of diet on health and disease, with a particular focus on the role of whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables in cardiovascular disease prevention.

Impact of production systems (organic v Conventional) of food quality and health.

Understanding consumer behaviours in the context of food choice and adoption of healthy, sustainable diets.

Determining whole grain consumption in the UK population.

Behavioural studies have also been completed on the acceptability of whole grains and barriers to their consumption.

Nutrient content of organic and conventional foodstuffs, and the effect of organic farming practices on food product composition and quality; impact of organic diets on health.

Research Roles

Member of the Human Nutrition and Exercise Research Centre.

Postgraduate Supervision

Supervisor/joint supervisor of 35 successful postgraduate research students (32 PhD, 3 MD); all submitted in less than 4 years (3 years for MD). The following completed in the past 3 years:

·         Elena Benedetti (2022)  Environmental regulation and sustainability in the food sector: exploring the impact of carbon taxation on diets, health and trade in the UK. Economic and Social Research Council Studentship award. Joint supervisor (25%) with Dr Luca Panzone and Prof John Wildman.

·         Angel Lin (2021)  Evaluation of maternal food choice and its association with the quality of the complementary diet in Singapore. Economic Development Board, Singapore and Nestle funded studentship. Joint supervisor (33%) with Dr Iain Brownlee and Dr Sharron Kuznesof.

·         Paul Johnson (2021)  The Mediterranean diet and multiple sclerosis: a case-control study in the Republic of Cyprus. (MD Thesis). Joint supervisor (50%) with Prof Mark Pearce.

·     Juan Wang (2019) Effect of organic and conventional agronomic practices and variety choice on nutritional quality, the contents of undesirable compounds and yield of cereals. Sheepdrove Trust and EU funding. Joint supervisor (50%) with Prof Carlo Leifert.

·         Liangkui Li (2018) Nutritional properties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) and its effects on cardiometabolic risk and gut microbiota. Chinese Government Scholarship. Joint supervisor (50%) with Prof Georg Lietz.

·         Nuno Mendonça (2018) Dietary intake, B vitamins and health outcomes in the very old: Analysis of the Newcastle 85 Study. Newcastle University SAgE Faculty Studentship (Swales Scholarship). Joint supervisor (33%) with Dr Tom Hill and Prof Carol Jagger [Institute of Health and Society].

·         Kay Mann (2017) Whole grain intake, diet quality and cardio-metabolic health in two UK cohorts. Staff Self-Funded and Cereal Partners Worldwide Sponsorship. Joint supervisor (50%) with Prof Mark Pearce [Institute of Health and Society].

·         Othman Qadir (2017) Growth of lettuce with different content of inorganic nitrate as a feeding strategy for placebo-controlled nutritional interventions to test the effects of inorganic nitrate on human health. Joint supervisor (10%) with Dr Kirsten Brandt and Dr Mario Siervo.

·         Karin Tan (2017) ‘Health Claims on food products in South East Asia: a comparative study of the regulatory framework and consumer understanding’ Singapore Economic Development Board/Danone studentship. Joint Supervisor (50%) with Dr Iain Brownlee [NUIS].

 Learned Society and professional bodies

  • Honorary Fellow, The Nutrition Society, 2022 – present
  • Honorary Treasurer, The Nutrition Society, 2016 – present
  • Honorary Scientific Development Officer, The Nutrition Society, 2006 – 2012
  • Honorary Programmes Secretary, The Nutrition Society, 1998 – 2004
  • Member of Council of the Nutrition Society, 1994 – 2004; 2006 - 2012


Other ‘Esteem Indicators’

  • Member of organising committee of the Whole Grain Global Summit, 13-17th November 2017.
  • Organiser of Rank Prize Funds Mini Symposium on Wheat in Diet and Health, April 2017.
  • Member of MRC Confidence in Global Nutrition and Health Panel 2017.
  • Member of MRC Global Health Foundation Call Expert Panel 2016.
  • Chair of RCUK-CONACYT (Mexico) Newton Fund Assessment Panel May 2016.
  • Invited expert member of Barilla Centre for Nutrition Stakeholder Forum “A tour around the Mediterranean Diet: the carbohydrates”, September 2016.
  • Member of BBSRC Panel of Experts 2015 – Present.
  • Member of Healthgrain Forum (Network developed from Healthgrain EU FP6 Integrated Project); Board Member 2018-2020.
  • Regular reviewer of articles for many international Journals.


International presentations and activities (last 5 years)

  • Invited speaker, Korean Food Science and Nutrition Society Annual Meeting, Busan South Korea, November 2018
  • Invited speaker AACC Annual Meeting, London, October 2018
  • Invited speaker European Federation of Associations for Dietetics, Rotterdam, October 2018
  • Plenary Speaker Whole Grain Global Summit, Vienna, November 2017.
  • Invited Speaker British Dietetic Association Annual Meeting, March 2017.
  • Invited Speaker, Food Matters Live (industry sponsored event), November 2016.
  • Invited speaker, Vitafoods Europe, Geneva, May 2016.
  • Invited speaker, British Dietetic Association Annual Meeting, March 2016 [Cereal Partners UK Sponsored Symposium].
  • Invited speaker, British Dietetic Association Research Meeting, November 2015 [Cereal Partners UK Sponsored Symposium].
Publications