Dr Barbara Engel

Biography

I have been a dietitian for over 20 years and I have covered most areas of dietetics but in particular I have worked in the fields of renal disease, gastroenterology, diabetes and intensive care. Although I am a full time tutor at Surrey University I also work for Central Surrey Health and have recently finished a 10 month secondment where I was the highly specialist Nutrition Support Dietitian and Team Leader for Acute Dietetic Services. I managed a small team of dietitians and a nutritionist (4) to deliver the dietetic service to the Acute wards and clinics in EGH. I covered Intensive Care, surgical and respiratory wards as well as looking after patients on home enteral feeding and parenteral (intravenous) feeding.. I was recently awarded a Spirit Award for outstanding contribution to patient care (March 2011).

My main remit as a tutor is to teach on the practical nutrition and dietetic modules.The reason that I continue to work as a dietitian when possible is that I feel it enhances my ability to teach the practical aspects of nutrition and dietetics and hopefully enthuse students with the wide range of interesting areas which can be covered in our professions. 

Research Interests

Grants Obtained

FSA (2008): Awarded grant (N05R0018)  £240,000. Development of a dose-responsive biological marker for carbohydrate intake based on metabolomics and machine learning
Dr J Lodge, Prof G Frost, Prof J Draper, Dr B Engel, Dr M Beckman

British Renal Society 2007

D Sutton, B Engel, R Davies, D Kariyawasam, S Perry, S Kennedy A multi-centre trial to assess whether increased dietary fibre intake reduces laxative requirement in PD patients. £22,500. This project has obtained Portfolio status.

Kings Fund Grant for pilot project ‘Setting up a diet and exercise programme for Renal Transplant Patients’: £5000 1996

Royal London Hospital Research and Development, £20,000 to continue work on ‘Diet and exercise programme for Renal Transplant Patients’ 1997 - 1999

• Renal disease (MSc project supervisor; development and evaluation of dietary information for renal patients from different ethnic groups)
• Liver disease ((MSc project supervisor; evaluation of Nutrition Assessment Score for patients with liver disease)
• Measuring and monitoring nutritional status in chronically ill people: renal disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes
• Designing intervention trails in order to develop guidelines of best practice for dietitians.
• Public health: I have supervised final year projects promoting healthy eating in Transplant patients, nursery and primary schools
• Inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and the effects of pre and probiotics on bowel health
  

Publications

Renal Nutrition: Engel B, Davies S. chapter in A Practical Manual of Renal Medicine: Nephrology, Dialysis & Transplantation;. Editor Kar Neng Lai (World Scientific). 2009

Renal Nutrition; Engel B. chapter 11; pages 315 – 362 in  Renal Nursing: 3rd Edition ed. Thomas N. (Elsevier). 2008

Renal Nursing: chapter on Renal Nutrition (Elsevier) 2006

Oxford Handbook of Nutrition; chapter on Renal Nutrition with co-author J Bartram 2006

Longitudinal measurements of total body water and body composition in healthy volunteers by online breath deuterium measurement and other near-subject methods, B Engel, S Davies et al. International Journal of Body Composition 2004 vol4 no 3; 99 - 106

Relationship of demographic, dietary, and clinical factors to the hydration status of patients on peritoneal dialysis. Asghar RB, Green S, Engel B, Davies SJ

Perit Dial Int. 2004; 24(3):231-9.

Comparative measurements of total body water in healthy volunteers by on-line breath deuterium measurement and other near- subject methods Smith D, Engel B et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002 vol76, no 6; 1295 - 1301

Nutritional Management of Diabetic Renal Transplant Recipients. Engel B. 2003 In Nutritional Management of Diabetes G Frost et al. Publisher J Wiley and Sons

Nutritional Management of Renal Disorders. Encyclopaedia of Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition. Academic Press. Updated and revised edition in print 2002

Expert Working Group report on nutrition in adult patients with renal insufficiency (ESPEN Guidelines) Toigo G, Aparicio M. Attman PO, Cano N, Ciancaruso B, Engel B et al. Clin Nutr 2000 vol 19 no 3 p 197 – 207

Nutritional assessment and supplementation in patients with ESRD. Griffiths A, Engel B. British Journal of Renal Medicine 2001 vol 6 no 3 p21 - 24

Setting Standards and achieving optimum nutritional status RNG Working PartyEngel B, James G, Singh S Vennegoor M. Winner of Elizabeth Washington Award – British Dietetic Association 1999

Renal Dietitians - Setting standards in Care. Engel B. British Journal of Renal Medicine 1996 Vol 1 No 2 p21 - 23

Identification of Malnutrition in Hamodialysis Patients B. Engel, SP Kon, MJ Raftery. Journal of Renal Nutrition 1995 Vol 5 No.2 p62 - 66

Affiliations

Registered dietitian with Health Professions Council

Member of the British Dietetic Association

Renal Nutrition Group; Post Graduate Education Committee

Honorary contact with Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust; providing dietetic clinics