Meet The Researcher

I am a mum of 3 kids (born within 3 years of each other) and literally spend 6 of my 7 days each week at representative football (socce.r) with my kids

As a person with MS who is also trained in nutrition, I saw the very real struggle that many people face in their relationship with food. Since I was a child, I have always had a love for food and my aim is to help others who are diagnosed with MS to not only love food but also to appreciate the many benefits that food can provide to our health.

For me one of the most exciting developments is the growing understanding of the re-myelination of our central nervous system. While we are still at the very early stages of understanding the effect of what we eat and on disease progression in MS, I hope the future of MS research will see a role for food and dietary patterns in relation to this understanding re-myelination even further.

My research focuses on both the person diagnosed with MS and the health professionals involved in their MS journey. The research addresses lifestyle management of MS including dietary management with an aim to produce tools and resources that can help both the person living with MS and those who are working with them to support their health. The research will acknowledge the misinformation and lack of understanding that is common to self-care and disease management.

In relation to dietary management of MS, we do not yet understand what is needed to support a person after they have been diagnosed with MS. A majority of research has focused on single nutrients or on the risk of MS. We need to move towards an understanding of how whole foods and patterns of eating can impact MS disease progression and symptom management. This understanding needs to be based on the evidence of nutrition science and the nutrition care process for medical nutrition therapy. Food is only one part of lifestyle management and, acknowledgement of other lifestyle factors is vital to this understanding.

My greatest enjoyment is sharing my MS journey with others while also helping them to untangle the complexity of the information that is thrust upon us as people living with a chronic neurodegenerative condition. Translating what we have found in our research into practical and useful messages that people can understand and use in their day to day lives is a highlight of this process.