Alison Gallagher is currently Head of Doctoral College (Coleraine/Magee) at Ulster University. With over 90 peer-reviewed publications, Alison contributes to the research conducted within the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE) at Ulster. Her research interests resonate within the area of obesity and include development of risk factors for disease, low-energy/non-nutritive sweeteners and their potential impact on health, physical activity and health (including implementation of lifestyle interventions at key stages across the lifecycle).

After completing her BSc Hons Human Nutrition and PhD at Ulster, Alison worked as a Research Fellow (University of Strathclyde) then as Research Officer (Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project) before returning to Ulster as a Lecturer in 1999; being promoted to Senior Lecturer and subsequently Professor of Public Health Nutrition. A Registered Nutritionist (Public Health), she was the first Fellow of the Association of Nutrition (FAfN) on the island of Ireland. An active member of the Nutrition Society, she Chaired the Scientific Committee for the Federation of Nutritional Sciences (FENS) 13th European Nutrition Conference (www.fens2019.org) and has recently been appointed as Editor-in-Chief for Proceedings of the Nutritition Society. She is a passionate advocate for the European Nutrition Leadership Platform (ENLP), having participated in the ENLP seminar in 1997 and being involved with this international leadership programme ever since, and is the current Chair/President of the ENLP Board (www.enlp.eu.com). She is also a member/Vice-chair of Northern Ireland Chest Heart Stroke Scientific (NICHS) Research Committee, expert member on the Scientific Advisory Panel on Sweeteners supported by the International Sweeteners Association (ISA), member/Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Nutrition Bulletin and a member of the recently established UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-nutrition-and-health-claims-committee).