Imperial to host national nutrition conference aimed at students

The Section of Nutrition Research, in collaboration with the Nutrition Society, will host the Nutrition Futures Conference, 7th – 8th September 2021.

The Nutrition Futures Conference, taking place at the Cavendish Conference Centre in central London, is a student-centred conference, which showcases the best in student-led nutrition research and empowers undergraduate and postgraduate students within the food, nutrition and dietetic related subjects in regards to career building.

The conference will be the first conference hosted by the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction's Section of Nutrition Research, newly established in 2019, and the award to host the event reflects external recognition of Imperial's world-leading research and educational programmes within the nutrition space.  

The Section of Nutrition Research at Imperial is honoured to host such an event, and one which reflects Imperials standing in nutrition research and education  Professor Gary Frost Head of Nutrition Research and Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics

The conference will see national and international attendees gather both in-person and online for two days of keynote lectures, research presentations, networking, social events and workshops. Keynote topics to be discussed include Nutrition and COVID, Sports Nutrition, Management of Dietary and Food choices and Cellular Nutrition and Metabolism. Imperial's Professor Gary Frost and Dr Aaron Lett will be speaking at the conference, alongside several other keynote speakers.

Alongside the keynote lectures, there will be research talks and poster presentations from attendees covering a wide and diverse range of nutrition research. Workshops include Scientific communication, Public speaking and Publishing. There will also be an exciting career panel with representatives from healthcare, industry, animal nutrition, science communication and academia, providing a fantastic opportunity for attendees to upskill and career plan. 

Speaking about the event, Dr Aaron M. Lett, Teaching Fellow for the MRes Clinical Research, said: “We look forward to sharing Imperials strong ethos for student development and education within nutrition science on this national stage.”

As a student-centred conference, students from the Section of Nutrition Research have been provided with a unique opportunity to be involved in planning a scientific conference at an early stage of their research careers. The student-centred ethos of the conference strongly aligns with Imperial's focus to develop the next generation of scientists and researchers within the nutrition sciences, which it delivers principally through its PhD and MRes Clinical Research (Human Nutrition) programmes. The Conference will provide an excellent opportunity and platform for students from Imperial, and other institutions, to showcase their research, as well as network and plan for the next stages of their career.  

Speaking about the collaboration, CEO of The Nutrition Society, Mark Hollingsworth, said: “I visited Imperial College’s Nutrition Research Department for the first time in 2019, and was immediately struck by the enthusiasm not just from the students but also the faculty members for their chosen subject. I came away impressed with the calibre of the students I had met, and was therefore not surprised when the Nutrition Society science committee later selected the College as the hosts for the NS Futures 2021 conference. Due to COVID restrictions, the conference has had to be relocated from Imperial to a commercial conferencing centre, but the students of Imperial will still be leading the planning and logistics.:"

Talking about the importance of the conference, Mark continued: "When I helped establish Nutrition Futures back in 2016 the original intention was not just to provide a world-class platform for students to showcase their research and to discover many aspects of career planning to help them in their futures, it was also to provide an environment where students gain essential transferable skills through having to lead, plan and organise a conference themselves. I am looking forward to NS Futures in September - it will be the first hybrid conference for the Nutrition Society and a welcome return to face-to-face events. I know the team at Imperial, supported by the Nutrition Society events’ staff and the Society’s student section, will make the conference a great success.”

If you are interested in attending the conference registration can be made through the Nutrition Society website. Find out more information about our Imperial PhD and MRes Clinical Research (Human Nutrition) programmes.

For Imperial enquiries, please contact Dr Aaron M. Lett.