Dr Alison Yeates

Overview

Dr Alison Yeates is a Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at Ulster University. She was awarded her PhD in Human Nutrition from Ulster University in 2009 having previously graduated from Ulster with a Masters in Research and a BSc in Human Nutrition (with Diploma in Industrial Studies).

Dr Yeates has over 10 years postdoctoral research experience in the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), primarily focused within the Seychelles Child Development Study (SCDS).

The SCDS is an international consortium studying the impact of contaminants and nutrients from fish consumption during pregnancy on child health and development, including the influence of genetics. This is in partnership with the University of Rochester, USA, the Ministry of Health in the Republic of Seychelles and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

This research program has helped to inform public health policy and dietary guidelines on the safe consumption of fish in pregnancy. Dr Yeates’s research interests include maternal and child nutrition, with a specific interest in long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, iodine and selenium, micronutrient modulation of the immune system and the contribution of animal foods to human health.

She has extensive experience of research study design, in conducting human intervention studies and in the biochemical analysis of nutritional biomarkers using high-throughput mass spectrometric methods.

Dr Yeates supervises a number of PhD projects and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has attracted significant external grant income to date and led projects funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Swedish Research Council.

Research Interests

• Maternal nutrition
• Risks and benefits of fish consumption for child development
• Contribution of meat and milk to human health
• N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, iodine and selenium
• Nutritional modulation of the immune system

Teaching Interests

• Lipid metabolism
• Micronutrient deficiencies

Professional Membership

• Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, University of Reading
• Fellow of Higher Education Academy
• European Nutrition Leadership Platform (ENLP) Alumni

Administrative Activities

• PURE Co-Editor for NICHE
• Publicity Representative and Social Media Co-Administrator for NICHE
• School of Biomedical Sciences Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team member
• School of Biomedical Sciences Ethics Filter Committee member
• Member of Ulster’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group