Name
Aifric O’Sullivan
Role
Funded Investigator
Dr Aifric O’Sullivan (BSc, MSc, PhD) is an Assistant Professor at UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, Principal Investigator at the UCD Institute of Food and Health, and Vice Principal (International) at UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences.
Her research focuses on understanding the interactions between genes, environment, diet, and metabolism to define nutrition phenotypes across the lifespan, aiming to inform personalised, sustainable nutrition strategies. One of her key areas of focus is vitamin D deficiency prevention, with ongoing projects investigating individual responses to supplementation and novel food-based strategies for improving vitamin D status in Ireland (NutriPlus and VitD-DPI). Dr O’Sullivan’s research also aims to promote sustainable healthy diets, with projects like SuHeGuide, MyPlanetDiet, and PLAN’EAT examining the implications of shifting dietary patterns towards sustainability, and informing interventions for dietary behaviour change in Ireland and Europe.
Dr O’Sullivan teaches at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and leads a research team, including PhD students, research assistants, and postdoctoral researchers. She is Vice Chair of the UCD Childhood and Human Development Research Centre, a representative of the Royal Irish Academy on the IAP/EASAC Working Group on Meat Alternatives, and serves on the Editorial Boards of three nutrition journals. She is also a member of the Metabolomics Society and the Nutrition Society (UK).
