Front of pack food labelling: Impact on consumer choice (FLICC)

Biography

I am a founding Co-Director of the University's Institute for Sustainability, and director of the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health (FCBH) Research Centre. Together with the university’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, FCBH was awarded the prestigious 2017/2018 Queen’s Anniversary Prize. FCBH research domains include:

• food-related behaviour and policy interventions to achieve sustainable and healthy lifestyles;
• social, policy and ethical issues relevant to the grand societal challenges such as sustainability and obesity;
• study of food systems from the perspective of significant actors and stakeholders within the system; and
• methodologically advancing food consumer science through exploring novel data sources and methods of data linking.

I previously worked at the Institute of Food Research (now Quadram Institute), Health Education Authority and University of Oxford. My expertise is in the area of public health and behavioural nutrition research, gained on a variety of projects. My research is wide ranging both in terms of topics covered (e.g. food choice, policy development, food safety) and methodologies used (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, stakeholder consultation). I have also been involved in the evaluation of health promotion programmes and developing tools for use in nutrition education. To date I have published over 145 refereed papers, numerous non-refereed publications including 20 book chapters 20 book chapters and have edited two books ("The Psychology of Food Choice" (2006) and "Food for the Ag(e)ing Population" (1st edition 2009;  2nd edition 2016).

From 2011 until June 2018 I was a member of UK's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and also a member of the Subgroup on Maternal and Child Nutrition (SMCN) from 2012 until June 2018.

I am one of the founding members, member of the Board of Directors (2001-2006) and was secretary (2004-2006) of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The society was set up to combine interests in diet and physical activity; and to stimulate, promote and advocate innovative research and policy in the area. The society now plays an important role in fostering excellence in research in this field through its annual meetings and journal called the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

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Biography

I started my career with GSK as a development chemist and then moved to Superdrug Stores PLC as Head of Technical Services. During my 14 years in industry, I gained extensive experience of managing technical and research projects within both branded and retail environments. In 2003, I joined the  Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre (FCBH) in the School of Psychology at Surrey, a multidisciplinary research centre which brings together skills and expertise in order to address research questions on food related policy, consumer behaviour, public health and ultimately food sustainability. I have played an instrumental role in the success of the Research Centre, working on a wide range of collaborative, multidisciplinary UK and EU funded research projects. I am also Director of Innovation for the School of Psychology, employing my expertise to support academics in the School of Psychology and the wider university to develop pathways to impact thus ensuring our research delivers societal benefit. More recently I became a Fellow of Surrey's Institute for Sustainability within which I collaborate on four key research areas; Governance, Equality & Sustainability, Sustainability through Behaviour Change, AI & Sustainability and Plastics in the Circular Economy. I am also an elected academic representative for FHMS on Senate and Council.

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Biography

Richard Shepherd is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology, having retired in August 2011. He obtained degrees in Natural Sciences from Cambridge and in Psychology from Cardiff and Southampton. He was a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey and then worked at the Institute of Food Research from 1982 to 1998, initially in Norwich and then in Reading, before joining the University of Surrey as a Reader.

He has carried out research on a range of issues related to the factors influencing food choice. In particular this has involved the development and application of social cognition models to food choice issues and the exploration of the factors influencing dietary change. He has also conducted research on the perception of risk and risk communication particularly in relation to food issues. He has published widely in all of these areas of research, including editing two books.

He has directed research funded by BBSRC, ESRC, MAFF, FSA, Wellcome Trust and industry, in addition to several collaborative European projects funded by the EU. He is a Chartered Psychologist and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. In the past Richard has been a member of the UK Food Standards Agency Social Science Research Committee, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Social Science Expert Advisory Group and the ESRC Grant Assessment Panel. 

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Biography

Having completed my PhD in 2000 (University of Surrey) in the area of identity processes in the context of social and cross-cultural mobility, I have subsequently worked within the advertising industry (J. Walter Thompson).

I joined the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre (FCBH) at the University of Surrey (Department of Psychology) in 2002, a multidisciplinary research centre which brings together skills and expertise from across the University in order to address research questions on food related policy, consumer behaviour and public health. Since my arrival, I have played an instrumental role in the success of the Research Centre, working on research projects of substantive theoretical and applied relevance.

I work within the critical public health framework and my empirically-oriented work has focused on understanding the role and nature of public and stakeholder engagement and dialogue in policy and science, risk perception and governance, and science-policy interaction. Policy relevance is a key theme across my research projects, and my work is aimed at both understanding the processes of policy making, and contributing evidence on which to base policies. I am particularly interested in public health nutrition, sustainable diets and illness prevention.

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Biography

Naomi completed a BSc (Hons) in Psychology at the University of Surrey in 2005, which included a professional training year in educational psychology with Dorset County Educational Psychology Service. She then completed an MSc in Psychology of Early Development at the University of Reading in 2006, before returning to Surrey to undertake a PhD. Naomi has been working at the University of Surrey since September 2009, during which time she has held the roles of Director of Studies and Director of Learning and Teaching (School of Psychology) and Associate Dean for Education (Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences). She now leads the Surrey Institute of Education, a centre for excellence in learning and teaching. Naomi is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and was awarded National Teaching Fellowship in 2016. She is also an Honorary Professor in the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University, Australia, and has been a Faculty Scholar at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI) at the University of Queensland, Australia.

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