Leanne is a Research Fellow within the Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute at Ulster University. Leanne graduated with a BSc in Human Nutrition in 2006, after which, she successfully completed a Masters of Research and PhD within the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE). During her PhD Leanne gained extensive experience working within the clinical setting recruiting prostate cancer patients and systemic lupus erythematosus patients from the Western and Belfast Health and Social Care Trusts.

As a Post-Doctoral Scientist, Leanne had a lead role on a range of externally funded research projects. Leanne worked on a human nutrition intervention study at the University of Liverpool and also assisted with the setting up of a multi-centre weight loss study in collaboration with the MRC Human Nutrition Research Centre at Cambridge University and Oxford University. Following this, Leanne worked on a mixed methods research study in the School of Nursing at Ulster, before joining NICHE in 2017 when she acted as a Lecturer in Human Nutrition and Immunology within the School of Biomedical Sciences (maternity cover) and managed a multi-centre project exploring Functional foods for Optimal nutrition for healthier Ageing (OptiAge). The OptiAge project included a two-year double-blind, randomised control trial (RCT) to investigate the effect of low-dose B-vitamins on bone mineral density and a food intervention study to test a vitamin enriched drink for its effectiveness in optimising B-vitamin status. Leanne was successfully placed on the E Tutor register in Biomedical Science at Ulster and provided online pastoral & teaching support to undergraduate and postgraduate students on topics such as research methods, ethics, hypothesis testing & statistical analysis.

Leanne is currently working as the Trial manager on the Walking In Schools (WISH) study. This is a school-based clustered RCT conducted with girls aged 12–14 years from schools across the Border Region of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Human Nutrition, Health Promotion, Immunology, Biochemistry, Statistics, Research Methods, Conducting a Systematic Review, Ethics & Research Governance.