Dr Katherine Livingstone

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY
Research Field: Nutrition Science

An unhealthy diet is a leading risk factor for disease in Australia and globally. Reasons for unhealthy
eating include a person’s biology, behaviours and environment, which explains why current "one-
size-fits-all" approaches to improving diets are failing. Personalised nutrition designs dietary advice
tailored to a person’s characteristics.
Dr Livingstone’s research aims to understand how our biology, behaviours and the environment
come together to influence overall dietary patterns and how to develop personalised advice based
on these characteristics. This research is needed before we can confidently design personalised
interventions to improve diets.
Katherine communicates her passion for nutrition science through engagement with schools, local
government, and the media. She has represented the Nutrition Society of Australia at Science Meets
Parliament, where she engaged with politicians about the need for a national nutrition policy. Dr
Livingstone received her PhD from the University of Reading (UK) in 2013 and is currently a Senior
Research Fellow and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow within Deakin University’s Institute for
Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN). She is the joint Domain Coordinator for IPAN’s Food, Nutrition
and Health Research Domain.