
Dr Fiona Lithander
BSc, PhD, Masters
Current positions
Honorary Senior Research Fellow
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
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Research interests
Dr Fiona Lithander (formerly Leahy) is a nutrition scientist and dietitian with expertise in research, teaching, clinical practice, and research management.
Research
Fiona's research interests resonate around the impact of dietary nutrients on metabolic health and inflammation. Since the award of her PhD in metabolic physiology from the University of Cambridge in 2002, Fiona has gained considerable expertise in the design and execution of dietary intervention trials in both healthy and clinical populations.
Fiona has led translational research groups at a number of research-intensive universities including Trinity College Dublin and the Australian National University. She has been awarded funding as principal and co-investigator, has published widely, is a member of the Editorial Board of Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, is former Chair of the British Dietetic Association South West Group, and has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings.
Teaching
Fiona has led the development of nutrition courses/modules in medical curricula and has provided leadership in the teaching and assessment of nutrition and dietetics undergraduate and postgraduate courses and programmes. She is an Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).
Clinical expertise
Fiona is a registered (UK: RD) and practicing dietitian (Aus: APD), has worked in the NHS as an acute care dietitian, and has specialised in performance nutrition. She is currently the lead sports dietitian at the University of Bristol and University of Bath and holds full registration on the UK Sports and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr).
Research management
Fiona has held research management roles at the University of Bristol and at the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre. This includes the role of Programme Manager (UK) of a large programme of research in Parkinson's disease called PRIME (Proactive and Integrated Management and Empowerment in Parkinson’s disease). In these roles, Fiona has managed internal and external relationships and research teams, planned and maintained budgets, managed reporting to the funders and stakeholders, and ensured robust research and management governance.
Wider academic citizenship
Fiona has been invited to advise the Irish government on public health nutrition related issues, and in 2021 to influence the agenda for training dietitians in the UK. Fiona is the former Chair of the British Dietetic Association South West Group, and has held various committee positions in the Nutriiton Society in Ireland and in Australia.
Recent publications
Ó Breasail M, Biswas B, Smith MD, Mazhar MKA, Tenison E, Cullen A, Lithander FE, Roudaut A, Henderson EJ. Wearable GPS and accelerometer technologies for monitoring mobility and physical activity in neurogenerative disorders: A systematic review. 02 Dec21 (Accepted). In: Sensors.
Mannino A., Lithander F.E., Dunlop E., Hoare S., Shivappa N., Daly A., Pereira G., Sherriff J., Lucas R.M., Ponsonby A.L., Hébert J.R., van der Mei I., the Ausimmune Investigator Group, Black L.J. Proinflammatory diet and central nervous system demyelination in a case-control study of Australian adults. 21 Nov 21 (Accepted). In: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.
O Breasail, M., Smith, M., Tenison, E., Henderson, E. J. & Lithander, F. E. Parkinson's disease: the nutrition perspective, 4 Oct 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665121003645 In: Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.
Brazier, D., Parneta, N., Lithander, F. E. & Henderson, E. J. Prone Positioning of older adults with COVID-19: a brief review and proposed proposal, 25 Aug 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Frailty and Aging.
Neumann S., Bamford A., Lithander F.E., Tenison E., Henderson E.J. Public attitudes to the use of remote data collection in clinical research, October 2021 (Accepted) In: Contemporary Clinical Trials
Marshall V., Jaffee A., Leary S.D., Ness A., Masters N., Birch L., England C., Lithander F.E., Atkinson C., Shield J.P.H. What do families know about healthy eating and physical activity? A lesson from Wallace and Gromit. Arch Dis Child. 2021 Jan;106(1):98-99. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2019-318550.
Lithander, F. E., Neumann, S., Tenison, E., Lloyd, K., Welsh, T. J., Rodrigues, J. C. L., Higgins, J. P. T., Scourfield, L., Christensen, H., Haunton, V. J. & Henderson, EJCovid-19 in older people: a rapid clincal review, 1 Jul 2020, In: Age and Ageing. 49, 4, p. 501–515 15. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa093
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Trajectory of change in body mass index in Parkinson's disease
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are some of the most common non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's. Weight is a nutritional metric and can be affected by dysfunction of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/02/2023 to 13/10/2024
Palm oil in nutrition, health and the environment: perceptions from a sub-Saharan African setting
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Through a research collaboration with the University Dschang (Cameroon), this project aims to explore current knowledge and practices around dietary intake in Cameroon. Specifically, we will examine common misconseptions around…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Dental SchoolDates
17/09/2018 to 30/06/2020
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2025Trajectory of change in body mass index in Parkinson’s disease
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders
Exploring how PRIME-Parkinson care is implemented and whether, how and why it produces change, for who and under what conditions
BMJ Open
Enhancing recruitment of individuals living with frailty, multimorbidity and cognitive impairment to Parkinson’s research
Age and Ageing
Evaluating eating behaviour, energy homeostasis and obesity in childhood onset craniopharyngioma
Hormone Research in Paediatrics
Management of Osteoporosis in Parkinson's Disease
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice