Meet The Nutrition Graduates Regional Reps
At Nutrition Graduates, we know that networking can be so powerful and it's always great to connect with other nutritionists in your area to bounce ideas off and just widen your network. Below is a list of our reps from around the country, feel free to get in touch with them and get involved in the meet-ups!
Charan Bijlani - London
I am really interested in being a rep even though I’ve been a graduate for a few years now I still love connecting with other nutritionists and nutrition professionals! I graduated from the University of Southampton in 2017 with a MSc in Public Health Nutrition and in the last 4 years I’ve been working in children’s weight management which I love and also balancing research roles alongside patient facing roles. Over the years I have transitioned more into research roles and currently work at Imperial College London doing a pre-doctoral fellowship. I love talking to others about the different career routes that nutritionists can take! I grew up in Canada and have been in the UK the last 5 years as love meeting new people and other nutritionists!
My contact details:
email: nutritionbycharan@gmail.com
Izabela Hubner – (London – Hackney)
My name is Izabela Hubner, I am an AfN accredited nutritionist, Global Public Health Nutrition MSc student at University of Westminster and mum to 2 little boys; living in East London (Hackney).
My area of focus is Family Nutrition, covering: Female and childhood nutrition. I am currently focusing on completing my masters, but once that is finished, I will be starting my own online Family Nutrition clinic.
I am happy to be contacted via instagram @thenutrimummy or email info.thenutrimmy@gmail.com
Simran Arora - (North West London)
I am Simran Arora, a Public Health Nutritionist. I completed my MSc in Global Public Health Nutrition from the University of Westminster, London in 2020. I have worked as a Fitness Nutrition Coach. As a certified coach and trainer, I help women with sustainable weight management solutions and help them with the prevention strategies for avoiding lifestyle diseases.
I am a mum to two kids so somehow can relate to most of the Nutritionist mums juggling real life scenarios and bringing knowledge into practice :) I believe that everyone deserves a right to Nutrition Support. Also, I feel strongly about the need to work for the prevention of Childhood Obesity and my Master's Dissertation looked at the Lifestyle Changes for parents of kids in their early years (0 - 5). I have been working on a project for Holistic Wellness for Families in the Community and provide my services as a Freelance Nutrition Professional. I am also into volunteering work as a Research Assistant and a Mentor with Bags Of Taste.
I believe in the collective efforts of our community of Nutritionists and strongly advocate supporting each other on this journey. Nutrition Graduates is a brilliant platform for connecting Nutritionists and opportunities to take our knowledge and practices to the next level by CPD and Journal Club.
I am based in Northwest London and if you are a Nutrition student or Graduate based in NorthWest London, please reach out to me. I would love to arrange meet-ups and look forward to connecting with you all.
My email address is simranarora4950@gmail.com
Rebecca Avgerinopoulou (Manchester)
Hi, I am Rebecca, an ANutr based in Greater Manchester.
After completing my BSc in Nutritional Sciences in 20219 at Manchester Metropolitan, I started work as a Health Coach for the National Diabetes Prevention Program and was also a Local Support Coach, helping with the training and development of the local coaches and supporting the Area Manager. From there, I moved to MoreLife, where I started as a Maintenance Coach and have now moved over to my role as an Adult Weight Management Practitioner.
During my time in university, I was fortunate enough to work with a local team called Real Food Wythenshaw on a 12 week placement, researching their impact on the community over a period of 5 days at a local event. I loved working with them so much, I decided to base my dissertation on their Aquaponic Geodome to compare the nutrition content of spinach grown inside the geodome, to supermarket and soil grown produce. I've also been lucky enough to work with Manchester City Football Club, Manchester Thunder Junior Netball Team, the Outreach Project (teaching nutrition and cooking skills), MetMUnch and ManMet Sports.
Prior to university, I was a self-employed Personal Trainer, working with women to ditch diet culture and embrace movement - specifically weight training- providing inclusive and enjoyable sessions in a private setting. I also ran a local running group and trained with North West Powerlifting- I was even fortunate enough to compete nationally for my division.
Outside of Nutrition, I enjoy hiking and pole dance - something a little different after years of powerlifting and running!
In my private practice, I use a healthy at every size approach, combined with intuitive eating. I truly believe in food neutrality and movement for enjoyment. I also love networking and talking to like minded people, so when this role came up, I knew I would love it! We have a Facebook messenger chat for Greater Manchester, so please feel free to drop me a message to be added!
Wanja Nyaga (Aberdeen)
My name is Wanja and I live in Aberdeen. I am a registered associate nutritionist with AfN. I'm passionate about Global Nutrition and Nutrition Advocacy.
I am currently working as a Research Assistant at NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health. I am a registered Nutritionist, a proactive person with over two years' experience in Human Nutrition. I hold a BSc Nutrition & Dietetics (University of Nairobi) and MSc Human Nutrition (University of Aberdeen).
I am also the founder of The Kenyan Telenutritionist - a platform through which I am devoted to sharing nutrition education with the public. I believe that good nutrition is fundamental for general well-being, national and global development. Advocacy is my greatest tool to get everyone on board towards scaling up nutrition.
Contact
Victoria (Vicki) Lawrence (Bournemouth)
My name is Vicki and I am a registered associate nutritionist. I graduated with a BSc (Hons) Nutrition from Bournemouth University in 2020 and I am in the final stages of my MSc Nutrition and Behaviour, also at BU. I have a background in fitness instructing and my approach to wellbeing is to help people find healthy activities and food they enjoy.
I love coffee and exploring new places and I would love to combine this with meeting up with local nutritionists and dietitians - A good network is absolutely vital to supporting our clients and increasing our own awareness of the industry. I live in Bournemouth and would love to connect with anyone local and get some great discussions underway.
Farihah Choudhury (Southampton/Hampshire)
Hi, I'm Farihah and I've been a registered nutritionist (ANutr) since 2020. I completed my MSc in Nutrition for Global Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2020 and in the same year I started working for Hampshire County Council as a Public Health Practitioner and the resident public health nutritionist. My interests are in all things public health nutrition, including food policy, food justice, food systems, food environments and food culture and anthropology. In true public health fashion I'm also really interested in place-making and healthy urbanism, and thinking about how we build healthy and sustainable places to live, work and play in! I'd love to get in touch with other nutritionists in Hampshire, find me on Twitter as @farihahchdhry or email farihah.choudhury@outlook.com
Rachel Fletcher (Derby)
Hi, I'm Rachel and I live in Derby. I graduated from Sheffield Hallam Uni in 2021 with a 1st class BSc in Nutrition, Diet & Lifestyle. I'm an Associate Registered Nutritionist with the AfN and run my own business, working 1-2-1 with clients and giving nutrition talks and workshops.
My specialisms and interests are the non-diet approach, health at every size, intuitive eating and performance nutrition. Yes, they are quite varied but I do believe that you can apply non-diet principles to performance ! I've completed the LCIE intuitive eating course which I loved and really wish that non-diet approaches were taught as part of the degree curriculum, hopefully that will change soon...
I'm a huge coffee and brunch fan so I would love to meet up with other nutrition professionals so we can connect and try out lots of great places to eat.
My contact details are: rachelfletchernutrition@gmail.com and my website is www.rachelfletchernutrition.com
Megan McPherson (Glasgow)
Hi! My name is Megan, I live in Glasgow, and I am a registered associate nutritionist with the AfN. In 2020, I graduated from the University of Glasgow with a master’s degree in Human Nutrition and since then I have worked as a nutritionist with Nutrition Scotland and interned with The Nutrition Consultant. I have also recently taken the step into freelancing as a nutritionist – something I have always wanted to do!
My main passions as a nutritionist include dispelling nutrition myths online and challenging diet culture. I am also really interested in plant-based diets, and I have an Instagram account which encourages people to eat more plants (@moreplantsnutrition).
If you are based in Glasgow or the central belt of Scotland – please reach out! I am looking forwarding to meeting more local nutritionists.
Website: meganmcphersonnutrition.co.uk
Tina Sabbagh – Perth/Glasgow/Edinburgh (Central Scotland)
Hi, I’m Tina! I’m a Registered Associate Nutritionist and graduated from the University of Glasgow’s MSc in Human Nutrition in 2018, where I specialised in Obesity and Weight Management.
As soon as I graduated, I entered the non-stop field of Public Health, working for third sector organisation, Obesity Action Scotland. I worked in Policy and Communications, researching, writing for and presenting to MSPs, medical and health professionals, the media and the public. I was also responsible for our communications, website, social media, and campaign design! During my time there, I published my first ‘first author’ paper and completed secondments to ASH Scotland, Obesity Health Alliance and Scottish Obesity Alliance – where I worked as the Alliance Coordinator.
I now work for the Association for Nutrition, coordinating a review of the Core Competencies that underpin registration to the UKVRN. I am also the Founder of NutriVoice – a nutrition communications organisation on a mission to tackle online nutrition misinformation. I’m a huge advocate of clear and credible nutrition communication online, and recently won the Nutrition Graduates Award for Social Media Nutritionist of the Year!
Contact me on: c.sabbagh@hotmail.co.uk
Bhamini Patel – (Northampton)
Hi my name is Bhamini. I am a Registered Associate Nutritionist. I have been working in a healthy lifestyle programme for the last two years and this meant working with weight management clients. I have recently also been working on the children’s weight management which I feel so passionately about. Over the last few years, I have had a growing interest in sports nutrition and type 2 diabetes.
I believe that nutrition is a key component and is a rising issue within the nation. It is all about education and encouraging people into making healthier choices. Another reason as to why I like to work with children is because if you teach them at a younger age they will grow up making healthier choices and spreading the word across their generation.
My contact details include:
Email – bhaminipatel4@hotmail.co.uk
Katrina (London – Southeast)
My name is Katrina. I am a Registered Associate Nutritionist, currently working as a Registered Vaccinator for the NHS and I am part of the online lecture committee for Caroline Walker trust.
I am interested in networking and learning from fellow nutritionists specialising in different areas. I am excited to help organising and participating in these networking events that everyone is longing for in the current climate. It will be truly amazing to create the opportunities for us to share this common passion and to grow our nutrition community!
My email address is kw.katrina@gmail.com and I am based in Southeast London.
Grace O’Brien (South West London)
My name is Grace and I am a Registered Associate Nutritionist (ANutr). I am 25 and live in London (South West). Last year I completed my MSc in Global Public Health Nutrition and now work as a Policy Advisor in the Department of Health and Social Care. Whilst my day job focuses on wider health policy, I hope to work on obesity-related policy in the future as this is an area I am particularly interested in and focused on during my degree. I am also interested in coaching in the future, so if you have gone down that route I would love to hear from you!
In my spare time I love to cook and try any gym class going! You can find me on Instagram at @thegracefoodfeed and please get in touch if you would like to join our group of like minded nutritionists in SW London
Danielle Stephens – (Bath)
I graduated in September from King's College with an MSc in Nutrition. I am currently working as a nutritionist for a healthy lifestyle service which is commissioned by several councils in the UK, called BeeZee Bodies. I am still finding my feet in nutrition and I am still unsure where my true interest and passion lies. I would love the opportunity to meet and network with other nutritionists in the Bath area, I love meeting new people and talking all things nutrition and it would be so nice to meet people face to face now the restrictions are easing!
I also have an evidence-based myth busting nutrition blog which I have written a few articles on...I do need to get back into this however, life and a new job have just gotten in thway! But the website for my blog is: daniellestephensnutrition.co.uk.This would be the best email to use to contact me!
I don't have an instagram account...something I have been trying to pluck up the courage to start but haven't managed yet...hopefully soon!
Amber Davey - (Leicester)
Hi! I'm Amber and I'm the new Nutrition Graduates rep for Leicestershire!
I graduated from my undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Food Science in 2018 and after working as a Food Technologist for a couple of years I decided to embark on a Masters degree in Global Public Health Nutrition at Westminster University, I'm fascinated by food systems and their influence on health and nutrition as well as working collaboratively with people to improve their health in a sustainable way. There's just my dissertation to complete before I'm finished and get to graduate later this year!
I've been working with the Nutrition Graduates gang since last year and it's been wonderful to connect with so many lovely people. I believe in the power of networking, I wouldn't have gotten my current job as a Health Coach without it (& Lucy of course!).
If you're a Leicestershire based nutrition student or graduate then please reach out to me. I'd love to arrange meet ups to connect with like minded people in my area.
My email address is: eatwithamber@gmail.com
Denisa Dufkova – (Peterborough)
Hi, my name is Denisa and I’m a rep for the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough area.
I graduated in 2018 from BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition at the University of Worcester and currently work as a Nutritionist (ANutr) in a public health role, where I get to develop and deliver a variety of programmes to promote nutrition education and help people to live healthier lives.
I also work with private clients where I get to focus more on in-depth relationships with food, as well as to work with a variety of companies and charities to deliver nutrition content.
I loved being a course rep at uni and I’m thrilled to continue working with fellow nutrition graduates to help them find their passion and new opportunities in the field!
Duaa Ahmad - (Bradford)
Hello I'm Duaa and I live in Bradford. I graduated with a BSc Nutritional Sciences in 2019 and became a Registered Associate Nutritionist with the AFN. I recently got a job in the NHS working in children's weight management. I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, love a good brunch and iced coffee, and always trying to keep a plant alive! I love participating in a variety of CPD webinars and courses and found that networking with nutritionists and nutrition graduates really motivating, so I decided to become a Bradford rep for NG to help nutrition graduates like myself have a circle of like-minded people with similar interests! My interests in nutrition are intuitive eating and children's nutrition, specifically weaning. I am happy to be contacted on any of my social media accounts or via email.
Email: duaa.h.ahmad16@gmail.com
Hollie Webb - (Sheffield)
Hi! I’m Hollie and I’m a final year BSc Nutrition student at Sheffield Hallam University. The areas of nutrition I’m most interested in are disordered eating and intuitive eating, and I’m passionate about dispelling diet culture myths and improving relationships with food. I’m also a qualified gym instructor, and work part time alongside my degree as a Health and Wellbeing Coach. Hobbies wise, I love weightlifting at the gym, play recreational netball, and I’m partial to a good Netflix series! I obviously love all things food too - follow me on instagram @foodwithholl to see what I’m cooking and eating. Please feel free to contact me using the details below - I’m really looking forward to meeting other Nutritionists and students in/around Sheffield!
Email: hollieann8@hotmail.co.uk