Chair & Expert speaker

Professor Bruce Griffin
Professor of Nutritional Metabolism at University of Surrey

Professor Griffin is a Biomedical Scientist with expertise in lipid metabolism, nutritional biochemistry and cardiovascular disease. After gaining a BSc with first class honours in medical laboratory science at Portsmouth Polytechnic in 1984, he undertook a PhD on the effects of exercise and diet on human plasma lipoproteins at the University of Aberdeen, under the supervision of Professor Ronald Maughan and Dr Roy Skinner (1988). This was followed by postdoctoral research in Pathological Biochemistry at Glasgow Royal Infirmary with Professors Jim Shepherd and Chris Packard.
Since 1994, he has held academic posts as a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor of Nutritional Metabolism at the University of Surrey. He teaches undergraduate dietitians, nutritionists and food scientists, as well as nutritional medicine and human nutrition masters students. He is an active researcher and external speaker in human nutrition, in relation to cardiovascular health, and has published widely in the areas of blood lipids, dietary macronutrients and cardiovascular disease. His research has been supported by grants from the Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Food Standards Agency, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and various industries.

Expert speaker

Professor David Jenkins
Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

Educated at Oxford University, Dr. David Jenkins is currently a Professor in both the Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, a Staff Physician in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, and a Scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. He has served on committees in Canada and the United States that have formulated nutritional guidelines for the treatment of diabetes and recommendations for fibre and macronutrient intake (fat protein and carbohydrates) for the general population (including the Dietary Reference intake or DRIs) under the joint United States-Canada DRI system (RDAs) of the National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC). He led the team that first defined and explored the concept of the glycemic index of foods. He was the first to demonstrate the breadth of metabolic effects of viscous soluble fiber (as found in fruit, certain beans, oats barley) on blood glucose and cholesterol lowering of relevance to prevention and treatment of diabetes and heart disease. His studies on combining cholesterol lowering food components (dietary portfolio) have been recognized as creating an effective dietary alternative to drug therapy (statins) for lower risk people. In an important study, he compared a dietary portfolio with all food provided with a statin in the same people and demonstrated that the effects of both were comparable. The dietary portfolio, on the basis of this and other studies including a major cross Canada real world study, was the only dietary approach referenced in 2004 Guidelines update of the US National Cholesterol Education Program (ATP III) and recommended in the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) guidelines for 2012 and the European Atherosclerosis Society consensus statement (2015). He has received many National and International awards in recognition of his contribution to nutrition research. He believes in the value of plant-based diets, and that a major effort is required to mount large studies to determine the extent of their health benefits. He also believes that diets have to be environmentally sustainable.

WEBINAR HOST AND MODERATOR
Tanya Haffner, MD RD Nutrilicious.