University of Ulster

Amy Burns

Dr Amy Burns gained her degree (BSc Nutritional Science) in University College Cork and PhD in the School of Biomedical Sciences at Ulster and now is a Lecturer in the Ulster Business School. She has published in a variety of prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journals, and she published a monograph entitled Controlling Appetite in 2009. Amy has considerable experience of working with private companies in Northern Ireland, making use of Invest NI funding to conduct research which has enabled these companies to make improvements in production, promotion, market estimation and sales. Her particular areas of expertise include product innovation and new product development, nutritional evaluation, the sensory evaluation of food and drink products and both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Maria Mulhern

Dr Maria Mulhern is currently a Lecturer in Food Science, following a 6 year career (2007- 2013) as a Research Associate at the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), University of Ulster. She received a BSc Hons in Biomedical Sciences with Diploma in Professional Practice in Pathology (2003) and PhD in Nutrition (2007) both from the University of Ulster. She has been involved in a number of areas and research studies in nutrition and has published 17 peer reviewed scientific papers. Her main area of research is Investigation of vitamin D requirements for health. As a lecturer, Maria is responsible for the Food Product Development module for BSc Hons Food and Nutrition students which includes Sensory Science theory and practical teaching and is the University Contact for the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and recently been asked to join the IFST NI Branch Committee. Maria also teaches on the recently developed Distance learning PGCert/PGDip/MSc in Nutraceuticals, Functional foods and Supplements. Maria is also the Marketing and Communications Officer for NICHE with responsibility for publicity and PR, including website management and social media.