Corrine Toyn - Chair
Corrine is a Registered Dietitian and founder of Chickpea Marketing, a marketing and nutrition consultancy on a mission to grow food, drink and lifestyle brands with a unique health-related positioning.
Starting her career at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Corrine has since worked in the food and drink industry across marketing, communications and trends, previously working for companies such as Abbott, M&S and Raisio Group (Benecol).
Corrine is passionate about raising the profile of dietitians and nutritionists in the food industry.
Dr Sammie Gill - Vice Chair
Sammie is a Specialist Gastroenterology Dietitian. She spent two years working at the British Dietetic Association as a Policy Officer in evidence-based practice. She then undertook her Postdoctoral Research Associate role at King’s College London in nutrition and functional gut disorders followed by a clinical role in gastroenterology at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
She now works as Scientific Research and Development Manager at Symprove Ltd, in addition to regular medical writing and clinical work.
Emma Coates - Secretary
Emma is a Registered Dietitian with clinical and industry experience.
Currently, she is Medical Affairs and Regulatory Manager at Nualtra, and Editor for NHD Magazine.
In her clinical practice, she has enjoyed roles as a graduate RD at the Countess of Chester Hospital; and later specialising in paediatric dietetics at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Emma moved into the medical nutrition industry 8 years ago, taking her first role at Dr Schar, working with low protein foods and protein substitutes; aiming to expand and improve the prescribed product options available for patients with inborn errors of metabolism.
In her current role at Nualtra, Emma supports and regulates the development of Foods For Special Medical Purposes and Total Diet Replacement products. Again, with an aim to improve choice, quality and value for those who require these products.
Imogen McKenzie Watson - Treasurer
Following graduation as a registered dietitian, Imogen went to work for the NHS, where she spent 10 years, specialising in the field of nutrition support. This involved providing nutritional expertise in several different clinical areas such as ICU and oncology. Imogen also spent 6 years working as a Home Enteral Feeding dietitian.
Imogen now works for Abbott, a medical nutrition company, as a Medical & Scientific Affairs manager. In this role she provides scientific support and shares her clinical knowledge with colleagues, as well as managing the Medical Affairs team.
She is a member of the BDA, and is also a member of several of the specialist groups of the BDA. Imogen was the Secretary for the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) Education and Training Committee (2013-2017) and treasurer for the BDA Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Group (2016-2021).
Harriet Smith - Engagement Officer
Harriet is an award-winning registered dietitian with a background in medical writing, Harriet spotted a gap in the market to provide expert, evidence-based, nutrition marketing content. In 2019, this specialist niche saw her launch a medical communications agency specialising in nutrition.
Her business, HRS Communications, offers a full-service approach and is led by a team of marketing and nutrition specialists. In 2022, Harriet was shortlisted as a ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ Finalist in the StartUp Awards National Series.
Ellie Bain - Social Media & Web Officer
Ellie is a registered dietitian working as Senior Nutritionist at award-winning recipe box company Gousto. In this role she leads on the companies health strategy, using trends, customer and industry insights to develop and deliver a long term strategy that ensures the proposition is having a positive impact on both people and planet. This includes horizon scanning and marketing research, setting recipe development guidelines for new ranges and reformulation (of recipes and ingredients), menu targets, approving health claims and marketing, nutritional analysis and influencing menu merchandising.
She always knew she didn’t want to work clinically and joined Gousto as an intern straight after university. This led her into recipe development, focused on healthy recipes, and as the company has grown she has built the nutrition function from the ground up.
Ellie is passionate about making it easier for everyone to eat a balanced diet and dispelling the multitude of myths that make it inaccessible and overcomplicated for so many. Alongside her full time role she is studying for an MSc in Food Policy to learn how to have a wider influence on the health of the population.
Paolo Lamperelli - Content & Research Officer
Paolo is a registered dietitian who decided to go into the food industry to merge his 3 key areas of interests: clinical nutrition, shopper psychology and data analysis.
After completing a Category Management Graduate Scheme with apetito where he was driving the category innovation of specialist nutrition products for consumers with dysphagia, dementia, and malnutrition, he moved into his current role as Junior Category Manager at Danone.
In this role he predicts future nutrition needs and trends, uses his understanding of shoppers psychology, visual merchandising and pricing dynamics to influence the dairy and plant-based yoghurt offering works in supermarkets and discounters.
Christina Xenaki (she/her) - Events Officer
Christina is a Registered Dietitian with a successful 8-year career spanning across clinical, industry, and agency environments with a global scope. Christina is a passionate advocate of the power of the food industry to promote global health and wellbeing, which stems from her extensive experience in marketing, medical affairs, communication, nutrition strategy, and product development.
Christina holds a BSc in Dietetics and Nutrition from Harokopio University in Athens and an MSc in Science Communication and Public Engagement from the University of Edinburgh. She now works with food brands to grow their value proposition and positively influence public health. Some of her key responsibilities have been monitoring food trends and delivering strategic insights, translating nutrition science to actionable messages, organising conferences and other engagement activities, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Recently appointed as the Events Officer of the BDA Industry Specialist Group, Christina is eager to channel her enthusiasm for high-quality events to meet the needs and interests of the Group's members, while raising the profile of Industry RDs
Orlaith Danaher - Events Officer
Orlaith has an MSc in Dietetics from King's College London. She has always been fascinated by the food industry, the ever evolving health segment & believes nutrition professionals are needed at the core of product innovation. Currently, Orlaith is the EMEA Scientific Regulatory Affairs & Nutrition Manager at KIND Snacks. Orlaith has a keen interest in simplified, evidence-based nutrition advice, bringing it back to the basics of whole food, sustainable nutrition.
Maia Fergus-O’Grady - Sponsorship officer
Maia is a Registered Dietitian and a Category Development Executive for Specialist Nutrition product ranges produced by apetito UK and Wiltshire Farm Foods.
Maia has a breadth of experience working across various clinical, product development, and commercial settings, with some of Maia’s previous experience including article contributions to nutrition and healthcare magazines, and working as the dietetic lead on various product development projects.
In her current role, Maia is responsible for driving growth of Specialist Nutrition products, using her dietetic knowledge and expertise to influence overall strategic objectives and long-term growth of the business.
As the Sponsorship Officer on the BDA Industry Group, Maia is looking forward to connecting with fellow dietitians in industry, sharing her passion of raising awareness of this emerging realm of dietetics, and continuing to highlight the impact dietitians can ultimately have on the overall shape of the food industry.