My research focuses on diet and nutrition in childhood and their impact on long term health, such as type 2 diabetes risk and obesity. I have been involved in the collection and analysis of dietary data within large cross-sectional surveys, examining key dietary associations with disease risk markers in childhood and identifying differences in dietary intakes and associations in children of different ethnic origins. This is an important step in reducing health inequalities experienced by many in the UK.
This research has led to the development of targeted dietary interventions which aim to reduce cardiometabolic markers and obesity in children. These interventions have mainly targeted increasing fibre intakes which we know are universally low in both adults and children in the UK and are associated with increased risk of many chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes and obesity. To reduce long term risk, it is important to investigate the role of early dietary intakes, particularly in childhood and adolescents where habits and taste preferences are formed, and to develop effective targeted interventions in these age groups.
I am involved in teaching on the MBBS4 and MBBS5 courses, delivering lectures and tutorials for Year 1 and Year 2. I co-lead on the PHEBP ICA in Year 2. I teach on the Behavioural Medicine module for Biomedical Sciences and have recently joined as co-lead on the Global Health Diseases Module.
Additionally, I am Associate Dean for Equality, Diversity and Enhancement at St George’s and am involved in many initiatives related to the Athena Swan Silver Award, the Institutional Review of Race Equality and the HR Excellence in Research Award.
Dr Angela Donin is a Lecturer in Epidemiology in the Population Health Research Institute and a member of the Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group within the research institute. Through her work investigating cross sectional associations with dietary intakes and risk markers for chronic diseases in children, Dr Donin has been developing specific nutritional interventions in children, and testing their efficacy on early risk markers for type 2 diabetes and obesity. She has also been involved in investigating sleep in childhood and effective interventions to improve sleep outcomes.
Her PhD, awarded in 2012, examined the ethnic differences in dietary intake and to what extent differences could explain the differences in disease risk markers between children of different ethnic origins. Having been at St George’s since 2007, she was previously involved in dietary data collection for the Child Heart and Health Study in England (a cross sectional survey of over 5000 primary school children) and as study coordinator in a collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital. Prior to this, Dr Donin completed an MSc in Public Health Nutrition at the University of Westminster and a BSc in Psychology at University of Northumbria at Newcastle.
Dr Angela Donin is a Lecturer in Epidemiology in the Population Health Research Institute and a member of the Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group within the research institute.
Her research focuses on diet and nutrition in childhood and their impact on long term health. She is also interested in identifying ethnic differences in dietary intakes and how these might explain the large ethnic differences in disease risk makers in children, particularly children of South Asian and black African Caribbean origins.
Through her work investigating cross sectional associations with dietary intakes and risk markers for chronic diseases in children, Dr Donin has been developing specific nutritional interventions in children, and testing their efficacy on early risk markers for type 2 diabetes. She has now successfully completed a pilot trial which aimed to increase cereal fibre intakes in children through providing a one-month supply of breakfast cereal. Using a biomarker of fibre intakes, the CRUNCH trial provided evidence that this intervention was both successful and acceptable for changing fibre intakes. A larger scale efficacy trial is now being planned to examine the effects of increasing cereal fibre intakes on type 2 diabetes risk markers.
Further qualitative work is also being developed to investigate the barriers and facilitators to improving children’s diets by increasing the amount of high fibre foods consumed. This work will then inform the development of an obesity prevention trial in children.
Recent Research Funding:
2016 Wellcome Trust Seed Award £95,990
“Developing a nutritional intervention to increase cereal fibre intakes in UK South Asian children”
2012 Diabetes UK £76,122
“Emerging ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes risk in children of South Asian, African Caribbean and white European origin: the role of childhood diet and eating patterns”