Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu

BSc (Hons), PhD

Professor

In: Population Health » Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences

Biography

Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu leads a Population Nutrition Research Programme at the National Institute for Health Innovation. She trained in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at Trinity College Dublin and worked as a Clinical Dietitian in the UK before doing her PhD in Public Health Nutrition at the University of Southampton. Her research programme evaluates effectiveness of population dietary interventions and policies, such as food taxes/subsidies, nutrition labels, healthier food reformulation and restrictions on food marketing. Current studies use a range of innovative technologies to deliver or evaluate interventions including smartphone apps, a virtual supermarket, and automated wearable cameras. Cliona serves on a number of national and international advisory committees including Ministry of Health Childhood Obesity Technical Advisory Group, Heart Foundation Food and Nutrition Advisory Group, Food Standards Australia New Zealand Social Sciences & Economics Advisory Group, and the New Zealand Health Star Rating Labelling Advisory Group. She is author of more than 160 peer-reviewed journal papers and Director of the "Dietary Interventions: Evidence & Translation" (DIET) programme http://www.diet.auckland.ac.nz/.

Research | Current

Research interests

Public health nutrition
Nutrition interventions
Food policy
Nutrition labelling
Food taxes/subsidies
Food supply and composition
Food marketing

Teaching | Current

Lectures for:

DIETETIC 704 - Professional Skills 1

DIETETIC 705 - Professional Skills 2

POPHLTH 203 - Health Promotion: Philosophy and Practice

POPHLTH 305 - Community Nutrition

POPHLTH 765 - Nutrition Interventions in Public Health

Postgraduate supervision

PhD, MPH, MHSc thesis supervision

Distinctions/Honours

2014	NEXT Magazine Woman of the Year Award - Health & Science Finalist
2013	Adjunct Assoc Professor, School of Public Health, Peking University, China
2010-13	Senior Fellowship, Heart Foundation of New Zealand
2010-13	International Research Team Development Award, University of Auckland
1999-02	Research Fellowship, Heart Foundation of New Zealand
2000	Young Investigator Award, 9th European Stroke Conference
1995	Research Award, British Dietetic Association
1994-07	Research & Development Studentship, South West Regional Health Authority, UK

Responsibilities

Deputy Director and Science Leadership Team member, Healthier Lives He Oranga Hauora National Science Challenge

Director, Dietary Interventions: Evidence &Translation (DIET), HRC 5-year research programme

Programme Leader Nutrition, National Institute for Health Innovation

Areas of expertise

Public health nutrition, randomised controlled trials, food policy

Committees/Professional groups/Services

2016, National District Health Board Healthy Food Policy nutrient criteria working group

2015, Ministry of Health Childhood Obesity Technical Advisory Group

2013, Health Promotion Agency Nutrition & Physical Activity Advisory Group

2012 - current, New Zealand Health Star Rating Labelling Advisory Group

2011 - current, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Social Sciences & Economics Advisory Group

2010 - 2013, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Consumer & Public Health Dialogue

2006 - current, Heart Foundation of New Zealand Food & Nutrition Working Group

2006, Ministry of Health 2008/09 NZ Adult National Nutrition Survey External Technical Group

2006, Ministry of Health Food & Beverage Classification System for Schools Stakeholders Advisory Group

Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)

Gemming, L., Rush, E., Maddison, R., Doherty, A., Gant, N., Utter, J., & Ni Mhurchu, C. (2015). Wearable cameras can reduce dietary under-reporting: Doubly labelled water validation of a camera-assisted 24 h recall. British Journal of Nutrition, 113 (2), 284-291. 10.1017/S0007114514003602
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Jennifer Utter
Ni Mhurchu, C., Eyles, H., Genc, M., Scarborough, P., Rayner, M., Mizdrak, A., ... Blakely, T. (2015). Effects of Health-Related Food Taxes and Subsidies on Mortality from Diet-Related Disease in New Zealand: An Econometric-Epidemiologic Modelling Study. PloS one, 10 (7)10.1371/journal.pone.0128477
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Helen Eyles
Waterlander, W. E., Jiang, Y., Steenhuis, I. H. M., & Ni Mhurchu, C. (2015). Using a 3D virtual supermarket to measure food purchase behavior: a validation study. Journal of medical Internet research, 17 (4)10.2196/jmir.3774
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Yannan Jiang
Gemming, L., Jiang, Y., Swinburn, B., Utter, J., & Mhurchu, C. N. (2014). Under-reporting remains a key limitation of self-reported dietary intake: an analysis of the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey. Eur J Clin Nutr, 68 (2), 259-264. 10.1038/ejcn.2013.242
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Yannan Jiang, Boyd Swinburn, Jennifer Utter
Ni Mhurchu, C., Whittaker, R., McRobbie, H., Ball, K., Crawford, D., Michie, J., ... Myers, K. (2014). Feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of a mobile health (mHealth) weight management programme for New Zealand adults. BMC obesity, 110.1186/2052-9538-1-10
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Yannan Jiang, Ralph Maddison
Ni Mhurchu, C., Vandevijvere, S., Waterlander, W., Thornton, L. E., Kelly, B., Cameron, A. J., ... INFORMAS (2013). Monitoring the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages in community and consumer retail food environments globally. Obes Rev, 14 Suppl 1, 108-119. 10.1111/obr.12080
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Boyd Swinburn, Stefanie Vandevijvere
Eyles, H., Ni Mhurchu, C., Nghiem, N., & Blakely, T. (2012). Food pricing strategies, population diets, and non-communicable disease: a systematic review of simulation studies. PLoS Med, 9 (12)10.1371/journal.pmed.1001353
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Helen Eyles
Maddison, R., Foley, L., Ni Mhurchu, C., Jiang, Y., Jull, A., Prapavessis, H., ... Rodgers, A. (2011). Effects of active video games on body composition: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr, 94 (1), 156-163. 10.3945/ajcn.110.009142
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/12470
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Yannan Jiang, Ralph Maddison, Andrew Jull