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Biography
Molly's research is the interface of agriculture, food science, nutrition and health with interests in protein and mineral supply of food systems i.e. the composition in foods and adequacy in populations. Specifically, her research examines the protein and mineral digestibility/bioavailability of foods and interrogates multifaceted processes across the food system, that modify protein and mineral supply with the goal to address current global challenges related to food security, particularly malnutrition. She worked as a research fellow for the Future Food Beacon of the University of Nottingham and was also a recipient of a prestigious IMMANA research fellowship (Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions) at the University of Nottingham. She completed her PhD in Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Ghent in Belgium.
Expertise Summary
Molly's key expertise is mainly in the development of in vitro digestion tools and resources to determine protein and mineral bioaccessibility and subsequently their supplies in food systems. She co-developed the modified high throughput method to measure mineral bioaccessibility (iron, zinc, calcium) using stable isotopes to enable accurate measurements. This unique method is being used to address important nutrient supply questions that would have been otherwise onerous to answer such as: 1. identification of globally important calcium food sources with high calcium bioaccessibility including understanding calcium bioaccessibility in fortified products 2. examining how iron bioaccessibility and supply is modified in the presence of soil contamination 3. understanding the interplay between digestion/absorption inhibitors (phytate, fiber, tannins) and iron and zinc bioaccessibility. Due to her involvement in international collaborations, she also implemented a recently established in vitro digestion method based on the INFOGEST standardized procedure to measure protein quality using the recommended digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS). This method is instrumental in evaluating the protein quality of novel and underutilized protein sources which urgently need to be developed in order to meet the protein needs of a growing and aging population. Further to this, Molly's work also involves understanding bioavailable protein and mineral intakes of individuals and populations using for example household consumption and expenditure surveys and food consumption data. To enable this work, she is interested in the development of bioavailability indexes and databases. She developed a database of protein digestibility and DIAAS scores of world foods which has so far led to the understanding of the protein and amino acid intakes of Malawian households.
Teaching Summary
Molly's interests are in the sustainable supply of nutrients in food systems and understanding the consequences of imbalances. She is specifically passionate about the linkage between agriculture,… read more
Molly's interests are in the sustainable supply of nutrients in food systems and understanding the consequences of imbalances. She is specifically passionate about the linkage between agriculture, food science, nutrition and health in relation to protein and mineral supply. She is therefore interested in topics related to this which include: malnutrition in children, micronutrient deficiencies in vulnerable populations, global protein requirements and ultra- processed food and health. These topics are examined in detail in the following modules in which she contributes to teaching:
BIOS2037: Global issues in Nutrition
BIOS3092: Healthy People, Healthy Planet