The Food Policy Impact Lab specialises in interdisciplinary, innovative and impactful research on food systems governance, food policy and food politics, drawing on a range of disciplines including political science and policy studies.
The Food Policy Impact Lab conducts research across a range of themes, including:
- Food policy effectiveness and process
- Legitimacy in food system leadership
- Food system governance models
- Misinformation in food and nutrition
- Conflicts of interest in food policy and research
- Equity considerations in food policy and food research
The Food Policy Impact Lab is committed to contributing to health-promoting food systems. We do so by conducting research across a range of themes, including:
- Food policy effectiveness and process
- Legitimacy in food system leadership
- Food system governance models
- Misinformation in food and nutrition
- Conflicts of interest in food policy and research
- Equity considerations in food policy and food research
We are hosted within the Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
We complement and work with other research groups including:
- The LSHTM Commercial Determinants Research Group, co-led by Professor Mark Petticrew and Professor Cecile Knai.
- The Population Health Innovation Lab
- Cécile Knai, Director, Professor of Public Health Policy
- Professor of Public Health Policy
Head, Department of Health Services Research and Policy - Deputy Director, NIHR Policy Innovation and Evaluation Policy Research Unit (PIRU)
- Director, LSHTM Food Policy Impact Lab
- Co-lead, LSHTM Commercial Determinants Research Group
- ORCID
Selected papers
Blanchard L, Bridge G, Bidonde J, Egan M, Rutter H, Petticrew M, Lucas PJ, Potvin Kent M, Bennet C, Ray S, Law C, Knai C (2025) The Effectiveness of Partnerships With Commercial Actors to Improve Food Environments: A Systematic Review
Warren E, Boadu P, Exley J, Williams L, Erens B, Knai C (2024) Knowledge and use of voluntary food and drink guidelines in English nurseries? Results from a nationally representative cross-sectional study Food policy 122:102573
Knai C, Savona N, Finegood D, Aguiar A, Blanchard L, Conway-Moore K, Helleve A, Klepp K-I, Lien N, Luszczynska A, Vlad I, Rønnestad AM, Rutter H (2023) Learning from the CO-CREATE project: A protocol for systems thinking across research (STAR). Obesity reviews 24 Sup(S2):e13624
Savona N, Brown A, Macauley T, Aguiar A, Hayward J, Ayuandini S, Habron J, Grewal NK, Luszczynska A, Mendes S, Klepp K-I, Rutter H, Allender S, Knai C System mapping with adolescents: Using group model building to map the complexity of obesity. Obesity Reviews 24 Sup(S1):e13506
Recent book chapters
Knai C, Savona N. “A systems perspective on the link between health and the commercial determinants of health”. In: Maani Hessari N (Editor), Petticrew M (Editor), Galea S (Editor) Commercial Determinants of Health. Oxford University Press, 2022
- Professor of Public Health Policy
- Laurence Blanchard, Research Fellow
Summary
I am a systematic reviewer and public health nutritionist. I mainly conduct different types of evidence syntheses on public health policies, particularly relating to nutrition, the commercial determinants of health, and health equity. I also develop methods for synthesising and appraising the quality or risk of bias of evaluations of public health policies for which conventional systematic review methods do not apply well.
Affiliations
- Co-lead of the Evidence Synthesis Theme, Centre for evaluation, LSHTM
- Module Co-Organizer for ‘Foundations for Health Promotion’
Selected papers
Blanchard, Laurence; Ray, Stephanie; Law, Cherry; Vega-Salas, María Jesús; Rutter, Harry; Egan, Matt; Petticrew, Mark; Potvin Kent, Monique; Bennett, Claire; Lucas, Patricia J; Knai, Cécile (2024) Inequalities in Research on Food Environment Policies: An Evidence Map of Global Evidence from 2010-2020. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 15 (11). 100306-. ISSN 2161-8313 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100306
Blanchard L, Ray S, Law C, Vega-Salas MJ, Bidonde J, Bridge G, et al. The effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and policy processes of regulatory, voluntary and partnership policies to improve food environments: an evidence synthesis. Public Health Res 2024;12(08). https://doi.org/10.3310/JYWP4049
Blanchard, Laurence; Conway-Moore, Kaitlin; Aguiar, Anaely; Önal, Furkan; Rutter, Harry; Helleve, Arnfinn; Nwosu, Emmanuel; Falcone, Jane; Savona, Natalie; Boyland, Emma; Knai, Cecile (2023) Associations between social media, adolescent mental health, and diet: A systematic review. Obesity reviews, 24 Sup (S2). e13631-. ISSN 1467-7881 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13631
- Kaitlin Conway-Moore, Research Fellow
Summary
I am a mixed-methods public health policy researcher. My work currently focuses on understanding how to increase the acceptability of public health interventions, including those related to nutrition, diet and exercise, among hard-to-reach groups in England and evaluating new approaches towards the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among those more likely to be at risk.
I am also a seminar leader for the MSc Public Health module Foundation of Health Promotion.
Affiliations - https://behscipru.nihr.ac.uk/staff/kaitlin-conway-moore/
https://piru.ac.uk/people/kaitlin-conway-moore.html
Selected papers
- Converging perspectives on the processes exacerbating adolescent obesity: An integrative systems approach
- Associations between social media, adolescent mental health, and diet: A systematic review
- Co-creating obesity prevention policies with youth: Policy ideas generated through the CO-CREATE project
- Learning from the CO-CREATE project: A protocol for systems thinking across research (STAR)
- Katharine Dayem, DrPH candidate
Research topic: A complex systems approach to understanding misinformation about food & nutrition-related non-communicable disease: A case study in Brunei Darussalam
- Megan Harrison, DrPH candidate
Program Officer, Nutritious Food Systems, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Marguerite Regan, DrPH candidate
Public Health Specialist, Head of Gambling, UK Department of Health and Social Care
- Chiara Rinaldi, Research Fellow
Research topic: Integrating public health with high street revitalisation: A mixed methods analysis of local initiatives addressing the food environment
Summary
I conduct public health policy research using qualitative research methods. I recently completed an NIHR Doctoral Fellowship on food environment policymaking processes in English local authorities. I am particularly interested in power dynamics within public health policymaking processes, and the influence of commercial actors.
Affiliations: NIHR Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit, Commercial Determinants Research Group
Selected papers
Young people’s perspectives on policies to create healthier food environments in England
Other projects
Menu changes following England’s calorie labelling regulations in the out-of-home food sector (CARO)
- Dr Emily Warren, Assistant Professor
Summary
I specialise in evaluating complex interventions and social policies, using primarily qualitative methods, although I often contribute to quantitative studies. I focus on realist approaches, including trials, to assess for whom, how, under what conditions, and to what extent interventions help or harm health. My research focuses primarily on early childhood and adolescence and covers nutrition and mental health.
Other roles: Associate Deputy Director for Health Improvement of the NIHR Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit (PIRU)
Module Co-Organizer for Health Promotion
Affiliations: Associate Professor II in the Department of Sport, Food and Natural Sciences at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Selected papers
Are realist randomised controlled trials possible? A reflection on the INCLUSIVE evaluation of a whole-school, bullying-prevention intervention.