Biography

Bernadette Egan graduated with a 1st Class degree in Biochemistry from University College Cork (UCC) in 1982, where she subsequently obtained her PhD. She then joined the Microbiology Department at the University of Surrey as a postdoctoral fellow, working on a number of projects in the area food microbiology. After a career break Dr Egan took up a Daphne Jackson fellowship in the School of Biomedical and Life Sciences (SBLS) at the University of Surrey (2000-2002), and then worked briefly with Professor Sibel Roller, establishing web based information systems on natural antimicrobials.

Bernadette joined the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre, in the University of Surrey's Department of Psychology in November 2002 where she has worked as a Research Fellow on a range of projects funded by organisations including the Food Standards Agency and the EU.  She has also been involved in a number of applied health research projects in conjunction with Professor Heather Gage.

Bernadette is currently the Acting Academic Lead at Surrey for the NIHR Research Design Service and sits on both the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences Ethics Committee and the University of Surrey Health and Medical Strategy Committee.  Recently she has also joined the team coordinating the University of Surrey’s application for an Athena Swan award.

Research Interests

Bernadette’s research interests are primarily public health-related (food safety, food choice, behavioural nutrition).  She works with consumers, professionals (e.g. teachers) and other stakeholders to investigate food-related attitudes, beliefs and behaviour using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Bernadette also has extensive experience in developing study protocols and in the collection, analysis and reporting of data.

Research Collaborations

• Plant Food Supplements: Levels of Intake, Benefit and Risk Assessment-PlantLIBRA (European Union; June2010 to May 2014)
• The Effect of Diet on the Mental performance of Children- NutriMENTHE (European Union; March 2008-February 2013)
• Early Nutrition programming- long term follow up of efficacy and safety trials and integrated epidemiological, genetic, animal, consumer and economic research - EARNEST (European Union; April 2005 to March 2010)
• European Food Information Resource Network - EuroFIR (European Union; 5 years from January 2005)
• Getting food safety and food hygiene messages into schools (Food Standards Agency; March 2004 to November 2005)
• Evaluation of UK food hygiene and safety training (Food Standards Agency; August 2002 to March 2004)

Publications

• Gage H, Von Rosen-Von Hoewel, Laitinen K, Jakobik V, Martin-Bautista E, Schmid M, Egan MB, Morgan J, Williams P, Decsi T, Campoy C, Koletzko B, Raats M. Health effects of infant feeding: Information for parents in leaflets and magazines in five European countries. Public Understanding of Science (in press)
• Brands B, Egan MB, Gyorei E, Lopez-Robles J-C, Gage H, Campoy C,Decsi T, Raats M. A qualitative interview study on effects of diet on children’s mental state and performance. Evaluation of perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of parents in four European countries. Appetite; 58: 739-746, 2012
• Egan MB, Gage H, HoodJ, Poole K,   McDowell C, Maguire G, Storey L.
• Availability of complementary and alternative medicine for people with cancer in the British National Health Service: Results of a national survey. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 18(2):75-80 2012
• Gage H, Raats M, Williams P, Egan MB, Jakobik V, Laitinen K, Martin-Bautista E, Schmid M, von Rosen-von Hoewel J, Campoy C, Decsi T, Morgan J, Koletzko B. Developmental origins of health and disease: the views of first time mothers in five European countries on the importance of nutritional influences in the first year of life. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 94(suppl):2018S–24S, 2011
• Gage H, Kaye J, Kimber A, Storey L, Egan MB, Qiao Y, Trend P. Correlates of constipation in people with Parkinson’s. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, 17 (2):106-111; 2011
• Egan MB, Hodgkins C, Shepherd R, Timotijevic L, Raats M. Consumer Attitudes and Beliefs about Plant Food Supplements. Food and Function. 2(12):747-752 14 Nov 2011
• Egan MB, Gage H, Raats M, Anton B, Koletzko B, Gyorei E, Decsi T, Martin-Bautista E,  Lopez-Roberts J.C, Campoy C.  The effect of diet on children’s mental performance: a study of the attitudes, knowledge and perceptions of UK parents. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 69 (OCE1), E72, 2010
• Hodgkins C, Raats MM, Egan MB, Fragodt A, Buttriss J, McKevith B
• Optimising food composition data flow within the UK food supply chain and to external stakeholders. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 23(7):749-752 Nov 2010
• Egan MB, Hodgkins C, Fragodt A, Krines C, Raats MM (2009). User-centred food composition data-analysis of user needs through the Use Case approach. Food Chemistry, 113, 804-807
• Egan MB, Bielby G, Eves A, Lumbers M, Raats M, Adams M (2008) Food Hygiene Education in UK Secondary Schools: A nationwide survey of teachers’ views. Health Education Journal 67: 110-120
• Egan MB, Fragodt A, Raats MM, Hodgkins C, Lumbers M (2007) The importance of harmonizing food composition data across Europe. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61, 813–821
• Egan MB, Raats M, Grubb SM, Eves A, Lumbers ML, Dean M, Adams MR (2007) A review of food safety and food hygiene training studies in the commercial sector. Food Control 18(10) 1180–1190
• Egan MB, Fragodt A, Raats MM (2006) The importance of harmonising and sustaining food composition data across Europe. Nutrition Bulletin, 31 349 – 353
• Eves A, Bielby G, Egan MB, Lumbers M, Raats M, Adams M (2006) The food hygiene knowledge and self-reported behaviours of school children (4-14 years). British Food Journal 108(9), 706-720.
• Bielby G, Egan MB, Eves A, Lumbers M, Raats M, Adams M (2006) Food Hygiene Education in UK Primary Schools: A nationwide survey of teachers’ views. British Food Journal 108(9), 721-731.