MRC Epidemiology UnitAnthropometry Specialist
Anthropometry, Nutrition Measurement Platform
Current work and interests
Emanuella is the anthropometry specialist and she is responsible for the anthropometry and body composition activities in the MRC Epidemiology Unit.
Emanuella also leads the Anthropometry section of the DAPA measurement toolkit. The toolkit provides end-users with the necessary information and resources to identify and implement optimal methods in different populations and settings on physical activity, anthropometry/body composition and diet. It also helps the users processing and interpreting the resulting data.
Her research interests are:
- Evaluating body composition methods used at population level and reviewing body measurement issues in different ages and population groups (DAPA)
- The influences of early life factors on body composition and adult disease
- Racial differences in body composition and their contributions to metabolic risk factors for obesity-related disease
Background and experience
She has a degree in Food Science and Nutrition and an MSc in Public Health Nutrition from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical School. During her first degree she had the opportunity to spend her placement year with the EPIC study (European Prospective Investigation of Cancer and nutrition) in Cambridge where she worked on the EPIC calibration study to improve the comparability of dietary data across the participating European centres, alongside the nutrition team. After her MSc, she worked for the NGO Help Age International in Ethiopia, where she assessed the nutritional status of adults in 4 Ethiopian Ethnic groups. In 2001, for of a short period of time, she worked as a nutritionist for Danone UK, offering nutritional advice and answering questions posed by the public on the possible health benefits associated with Calcium. She joined the unit (the former Diabetes Research Group) in August 2001.
In 2012, Emanuella was awarded a PhD degree in Epidemiology from Groningen University, the Netherlands. During her PhD, she developed an ultrasound method to determine abdominal fat compartments and assessed its validity in different populations; she also investigated the role of early life determinants/factors that may influence the accumulation of these fat depositions.
Publications