Anne Mullen, Principal Investigator

Anne is a nutrition scientist with a PhD in molecular nutrition from Trinity College Dublin and postdoctoral experience at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on a complementary feeding project of HIV exposed infants in Zambia. Anne was a Lecturer in Nutritional Sciences in King’s College London and researched HIV lipodystrophy syndrome in London and an intervention for acute malnutrition among HIV positive children and adults in Uganda. As Director of Nutrition at the Dairy Council for Great Britain, Anne provided evidence-based information to citizens, health professionals, researchers, food industry and politicians on milk, dairy, nutrition and health. Anne was the launch Chief Editor of the Nature Research Portfolio journal, Nature Food.

Anne is a Lecturer in Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security in the Ryan Institute and Sustainable World Section of the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Her interests are in sustainable food systems that support health for all, and empowerment of citizens in food systems transformation.

ORCID: 0000-0003-2973-1109

Nicole Olweean, PhD student

Nicole is a PhD student in University of Galway’s Food Systems Lab. She is interested in the connection between people, place, and food—an intersection we all have in common and one that has major implications for human health and the environment. She aims to challenge the narrative that positions policymakers and food producers as the leading drivers of change toward healthier, more sustainable diets by finding out what effect citizens can have on sustainable transitions. Her current research investigates how citizens in the west of Ireland perceive sustainable dietary practices, which tools can help enable them to adopt these, and if/how these changes could impact sustainability in their food system. Previously, Nicole has researched how human migration can enable sustainable dietary transitions in urban food systems. She hopes to continue studying citizen-driven sustainability in food systems, incorporating themes like resilience in conflict and displacement scenarios, influences of narrative on dietary behavior, and urban agriculture. Outside the lab, Nicole is a runner, musician, gardener, and novice plant identifier.  

Interested in joining Nicole’s research? More information available here.

Ayushi Kashyap, Data Scientist

Ayushi is a recent graduate with an MSc in Data Analytics from the University of Galway and is currently working as a research assistant. She has a background in data analysis, natural language processing, and machine learning. Her professional journey includes leading a team to enhance healthcare applications, where she streamlined data processes and automated ticket categorization using advanced NLP techniques.

One of her notable projects involved developing a Neo4j knowledge graph database for Food Wise and Food Vision stakeholders. This project required extensive web scraping, entity extraction, and knowledge graph generation. With proficiency in Python, R, and SQL, she is deeply passionate about harnessing data science to tackle complex challenges, particularly in the realms of food systems and stakeholder mapping.

Noel Doyle, Social Scientist

Noel is a passionate social scientist with a PhD from Munster Technological University, specializing in human behavior within outdoor recreation. With a focus on environmental science, responsible tourism, and community engagement, Noel is committed to tackling pressing challenges such as climate change through stakeholder collaboration and empowerment.

Currently, Noel is mapping stakeholders in Ireland’s dairy sector, aiming to foster stronger collaborations for sustainable solutions. With extensive experience as a project coordinator, Noel has led various community-led initiatives and coordinated European projects promoting environmental education and climate adaptation in outdoor sports. Their work spans project management, curriculum development, and conservation efforts across Ireland and Europe.

Noel holds a BSc in Zoology from University College Dublin, a Postgraduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and has presented at numerous international conferences.