Our aim is to improve nutrition-related health outcomes by training professionals, strengthening research, implementing solutions and addressing inequalities, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and the Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025.
Established as a University-based project group in 2008, we were subsequently hosted in a UK Medical Research Council facility for several years, before being constituted as an independent non-government education and research organisation, retaining formal University affiliations.
Today, we are an award-winning, interdisciplinary think-tank, training academy and knowledge network anchored in Cambridge which provides a centre for global excellence. Our principal hubs are in Cambridge, London, Ulster and Parma. Our international networks, including regional hubs, extend from North America, through Africa and South Asia to Australasia.
We work via strategic partnerships and key collaborations, connecting both individuals and institutions through membership of our academy as well as our formalised networks. Working closely with diverse professional groups enables an inter-disciplinary knowledge-base that is greater than the sum of its parts.
We deliver our work through the following sections:
· International Academy of Nutrition Educators (IANE)
Developing, delivering and evaluating evidence-informed education and training in nutrition and health as well as capacity building and mentoring of tomorrow’s trainers.
IANE is responsible for: leading on Nutrition Education at the Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine; hosting the Cambridge Summer School in Applied Human Nutrition with the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education; organising the Annual International Summit on Medical/Public Health Nutrition Education and Research at Wolfson College Cambridge; and also co-leading our official journal with the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Group. IANE work has been recognised through the Complete Nutrition Outstanding Achievement Award (2015) and the BMJ Education Team of the Year Awards (2016).
· Nutrition Research and Innovation Consortium (NRIC)
Undertaking primary nutrition research through basic science, human interventions, population studies and evidence syntheses to inform health policy and practice.
NRIC draws key members from: Cambridge, Ulster, Imperial, Parma and the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC). NRIC research, particularly in Nutrition and Cardiovascular Prevention, was recognised early on by a British Medical Association (BMA) Research Foundation award (2014), Research Councils funding and numerous peer-reviewed scientific outputs with citations.
· Implementation Research and Consulting in Nutrition (IRCN)
Seeking implementation strategies to embed good nutrition practices into health systems across sectors through action-orientated research and solution-focused consulting.
IRCN places emphasis on integrating good nutritional care into health systems with pioneering work funded through competitive awards in the UK, Canada and more widely, and recognised further through the Medical Nutrition International Industry (MNI) award (2017).
· Nutritional Equity and Population Health (NEPH)
Closing the nutrition and health related inequalities gap through lean innovation and empowerment of marginalised populations with a focus on lower income settings.
NEPH has led a critical mass of work in India leading to the development of mobile teaching kitchens as a model for health and social innovation in impoverished populations, the potential of which has been recognised through a flagship project awarded via the Global Challenges Research Fund (2018).
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We have key affiliations with academic institutions, including the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Ulster University and the University of Parma. We are also closely allied with specialist organisations, such as Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) as well as the British Dietetic Association. Further strategic partnerships with specialist organisations include Nutrition in Medicine, the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior and the LGC Group. We have significant regional collaborations with the University of Waterloo in Canada, the University of Wollongong in Australia as well as the Remedy Clinic and Cordia Group of Educational Institutes in India.
In 2018, along with the BMJ Group, we are delighted to have become co-founders of its first dedicated Nutrition journal, BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health, which will be an important vehicle for the translation of high-quality open knowledge to strengthen evidence-informed health policy and practice.
