Mary Ward is a registered Dietitian having graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a BSc Hons Human Nutrition and Dietetics. She completed her PhD at Ulster University in Nutritional Biochemistry where she is currently a Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Her research is focused on micronutrients, with a specific interest in B-vitamins and their role in maintaining optimal health across the lifecycle. A key priority is to carry out research that has wider societal impact beyond academia.  A particular interest of Mary's is the interaction between B-vitamins and a common polymorphism in the folate metabolising enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) which has led to the novel discovery that vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is an important modulator of BP in individuals with a genetic pre-disposition for hypertension.

As a member of the All-island Food-I network FOOD-I (foodintegrityisland.com) she is also committed to developing a strong evidence-base to inform the transition to healthy diets from sustainable sources across the island of Ireland.

To date Mary has supervised 21 PhD students to successful completion and has published >130 5cientific outputs, including original and review papers in top-ranked journals across several disciplines as well as book chapters on nutrition-related topics. She has attracted significant external research funding (over £6M) from government agencies in the UK and Ireland, the EU, Charities, and Industry

Mary sits on the Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, is Deputy Director of the Wellcome Trust-Wolfson Northern Ireland Clinical Research Facility and is a member of the Life and Health sciences committee of the Royal Irish Academy. Mary has recently been appointed as President of the Nutrition Society (UK and Ireland, 2023-26) having previously acted as membership  secretary and chair of the society's Irish section.  

Mary has over 25 years of teaching experiene at undergraduate and postgraduate level and is a previous Course Director of the BSc Hons Dietetics at Ulster. She is passionate about delivering research-led teaching and providing mentorship to early career researchers.