Amy Burns

Dr Amy Burns graduated with a BSc in Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork before completing a PhD in biomedical sciences at Ulster University in 2001.In 2001 Amy joined the Ulster Business School and is now Course Director for the BSc Consumer Management and Food Innovation programme and Director of the Food and Consumer Testing Suite (FACTS). She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.Amy has considerable experience of working with private companies in Northern Ireland, other parts of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and has made use of Invest NI and Enterprise Ireland funding to conduct research which has enabled Ireland-based companies to make improvements in production, promotion, market estimation and sales.Her particular areas of expertise include product innovation and new product development, nutritional evaluation, the sensory evaluation of food and drink products and both quantitative and qualitative research methods. She has published in a variety of prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has published a monograph entitled Controlling Appetite in 2009.Amy is one of 10 members of the Sensory Network Ireland Group that is promoting integration and ensuring sustainability for all sensory science activities on the island of Ireland and abroad.Recent research grants in the area of food include an investigation into the balance of healthy versus less healthy food promotions among Northern Ireland food retailers (Food Standards Agency) and the balance of healthy versus less-healthy food promotions among Republic of Ireland food retailers (safefood).