Assoc Professor
Aifric O'SullivanProfile page
Associate Professor
School of Agriculture and Food Science
Orcid identifier0000-0002-7441-1983
- Associate ProfessorSchool of Agriculture and Food Science
- 01 716 2824
- University College Dublin, School of Agriculture and Food Science, Science Centre - South Belfield Dublin 4
BIO
Dr Aifric O’Sullivan (BSc, MSc, PhD) is an Assistant Professor at UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, Principal Investigator at UCD Institute of Food and Health and Vice Principal (International) at UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences.
Dr O’Sullivan’s research aims to understand interactions between genes, environment, diet and metabolism that define nutrition phenotypes across the lifespan, with a view to informing personalised, sustainable, healthy nutrition strategies. Within this broad remit, one key research focus is vitamin D deficiency prevention. Recent and ongoing research projects are examining inter-individual responses to vitamin D supplementation and novel food-based strategies that will deliver sustainable improvements in vitamin D status in Ireland (NutriPlus and VitD-DPI). Another critical research goal is to foster the transition to sustainable healthy diets (SuHeGuide, MyPlanetDiet and PLAN’EAT). This ongoing research will show the nutrition and health implications of changing dietary patterns to be more sustainable, as well as informing recommendations, tools and interventions that will support dietary behaviour change to sustainable healthy diets in Ireland and Europe.
Dr O'Sullivan teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate level and leads a team of researchers which includes PhD students, research assistants and postdoctoral researchers. She is the Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the UCD Childhood and Human Development Research Centre, the Royal Irish Academy representative on the IAP/EASAC Working Group on Meat Alternatives, on the Editorial Board for three Nutrition Journals and a member of the Metabolomics Society and the Nutrition Society (UK).
Dr O’Sullivan’s research aims to understand interactions between genes, environment, diet and metabolism that define nutrition phenotypes across the lifespan, with a view to informing personalised, sustainable, healthy nutrition strategies. Within this broad remit, one key research focus is vitamin D deficiency prevention. Recent and ongoing research projects are examining inter-individual responses to vitamin D supplementation and novel food-based strategies that will deliver sustainable improvements in vitamin D status in Ireland (NutriPlus and VitD-DPI). Another critical research goal is to foster the transition to sustainable healthy diets (SuHeGuide, MyPlanetDiet and PLAN’EAT). This ongoing research will show the nutrition and health implications of changing dietary patterns to be more sustainable, as well as informing recommendations, tools and interventions that will support dietary behaviour change to sustainable healthy diets in Ireland and Europe.
Dr O'Sullivan teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate level and leads a team of researchers which includes PhD students, research assistants and postdoctoral researchers. She is the Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the UCD Childhood and Human Development Research Centre, the Royal Irish Academy representative on the IAP/EASAC Working Group on Meat Alternatives, on the Editorial Board for three Nutrition Journals and a member of the Metabolomics Society and the Nutrition Society (UK).
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN APPOINTMENTS
- Associate Dean for International ProgrammesUCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, Ireland1 Sep 2019
- Deputy VP (International)University College Dublin, College of Health and Agricultural Sciences, Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2020
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- Post-Doctoral ResearcherUniversity California, Davis1 Mar 2011 - 31 Jul 2012
- LecturerUniversity College Dublin1 Sep 2012
- Post-Doctoral ResearcherUniversity College Dublin1 May 2010 - 28 Feb 2011
- Lecturer (part-time)University College Dublin1 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010
- LecturerInstitute of Technology, Tralee1 Sep 2005 - 31 Jul 2006
- Lecturer (part-time)Institute of Technology, Carlow1 Jan 2010 - 31 May 2012
DEGREES
- BScUniversity of Limerick
- MScUniversity of Aberdeen
- PhDUniversity College Dublin
- Prof Dip University Teaching & LearningUniversity College Dublin