Alan Dangour MSc PhD RPHNutr

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Background

Alan is a senior lecturer and Registered Public Health Nutritionist with a background in biochemistry and biological anthropology.  Alan joined LSHTM in 2001 having previously taught at University College London and the University of Cambridge.

Teaching

Alan is actively involved in teaching, and organises the Term 1 MSc core unit Fundamental Public Health Nutrition. Alan also teaches on the Nutrition Related Chronic Disease module and is the Chair of the Examination Board for the MSc Public Health Nutrition.

Research

Alan's primary research focus is nutrition in older age, and he is conducting a series of trials to determine the effectiveness of nutrition interventions for the maintenance of health and function in later life. Alan is the principal investigator of the OPAL study which is a randomised controlled trial designed to determine the effect of daily supplementation with n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on cognitive and retinal function in older people, and of the OPEN study which is a randomised controlled trial designed to determine the effect of daily vitamin B12 supplementation on neurocognitive function in older people. He is a co-investigator in a cost-effectiveness evaluation of the national programme of nutritional supplementation in older people in Chile (CENEX-Chile), and has just completed a project which defined the minimum income for healthy living in older people in the UK. Alan also led the LSHTM team reviewing the available evidence on the nutrient composition of organic foods. Alan is part of an inter-disciplinary team that recently set up the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health. The Centre conducts inter-sectoral research on: poverty and development; globalisation and food quality; sustainability, environment and climate change; food-borne and zoonotic diseases; and common metrics for agricultural research and evaluation.

Selected publications

• Dangour, A.D.; Allen, E.; Elbourne, D.; Fasey, N.; Fletcher, A.E.; Hardy, P.; Holder, G.E.; Knight, R.; Letley, L.; Richards, M.; Uauy, R.; Effect of 2-y n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on cognitive function in older people: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr, 2010; 91(6):1725-32
• Friel, S.; Dangour, A.D.; Garnett, T.; Lock, K.; Chalabi, Z.; Roberts, I.; Butler, A.; Butler, C.D.; Waage, J.; McMichael, A.J.; Haines, A.; Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: food and agriculture. Lancet, 2009; 374(9706):2016-25
• Dangour, A.D.; Dodhia, S.K.; Hayter, A.; Allen, E.; Lock, K.; Uauy, R.; Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr, 2009;
• Dangour, A.D.; Lock, K.; Hayter, A.; Aikenhead, A.; Allen, E.; Uauy, R.; Nutrition-related health effects of organic foods: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr, 2010;
• Dangour, A.D.; Albala, C.; Aedo, C.; Elbourne, D.; Grundy, E.; Walker, D.; Uauy, R.; A factorial-design cluster randomised controlled trial investigating the cost-effectiveness of a nutrition supplement and an exercise programme on pneumonia incidence, walking capacity and body mass index in older people living in Santiago, Chile: the CENEX study protocol [ISRCTN48153354]. Nutr J, 2007; 6(1):14
• Lim, W.S.; Gammack, J.K.; Van Niekerk, J.; Dangour, A.D.; Omega 3 fatty acid for the prevention of dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2006; (1):CD005379
• Morris, J.; Wilkinson, P.; Dangour, A.D.; Deeming, C.; Fletcher, A.; Defining a minimum income for healthy living (MIHL): older age, England. Int J Epidemiol, 2007; 36(6):1300-7
• Uauy, R.; Corvalan, C.; Dangour, A.D.; Conference on "Multidisciplinary approaches to nutritional problems". Rank Prize Lecture. Global nutrition challenges for optimal health and well-being. Proc Nutr Soc, 2009; 68(1):34-42

Full publications listing (since 2001)