Head of the Stable Isotope Laboratory

Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory

Has now left the Unit

Current work and interests

The Stable Isotope Laboratory is part of the Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory (NBL), and focuses on the application of methods using stable isotope technology. Measurements such as total energy expenditure using doubly labelled water, body composition and breast milk intake utilise gold-standard methodology. The stable isotope laboratory is responsible for the measurement of total energy expenditure for the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

Background and experience

Michelle joined the NBL as Head of the Stable Isotope Laboratory after more than 8 years working in the field of stable isotopes with the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cambridge. She has experience in the use of stable isotopes in metabolic studies and large cohorts both nationally and internationally. She left the Unit in 2024.

Publications

• MRC Epidemiology Unit publications on Publications Database

Selected publications

• Brage S, Lindsay T, Venables M, Wijndaele K, Westgate K, Collins D, Bluck l, Wareham N, Page P. Descriptive epidemiology of energy expenditure in the UK: Findings from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2008 – 2015. Int J Epidemiol. (2020) 49 (3): 1007–1021.
• Foster E, lee C, Imamura F, Hollidge SE, Westgate KL, Venables MC, Poliakov I, Rowland MK, Osadchiy T, Bradley JC, Simpson EL, Adamson AJ, Olivier P, Wareham N, Forouhi NG, Brage S Validity and reliability of an online self-report 24-h dietary recall method (INTAKE24): A doubly-labelled water study and repeated-measures analysis. J Nutr Sci. (2019) 8: e29, 1-9.
• Watson LPE, Carr KS, Venables MC, Acerini C, Moran C, Murgatroyd PR, Chatterjee VK. Quantifying energy expenditure in childhood: utility in managing paediatric metabolic disorders.  Am J Clin Nutr. (2019) [Epub ahead of print].
• Singh P, Orford E, Donkers K, Bluck L, Venables M. Implications of the variation in biological 18O natural abundance in body water to inform use of Bayesian methods for modelling total energy expenditure when using doubly labelled water. Rapid Commun Mass Spec. (2018) 32(24): 2122-2128.
• Ruan Y, Bluck L, Smith J, Mander A, Singh P, Venables M. Application of Bayesian analysis to the doubly labelled water method for total energy expenditure in humans. Rapid Comm Mass Spec.  (2018) 32(1): 23-32.