Professor Orla Kennedy

Biography

Orla co-chairs the Sub-Committee on Student Experience and Employability, as well as being the teaching and learning lead for the University’s work on Health, Degree Apprenticeships, Personal Tutoring, Careers and Widening Participation. As a graduate of the University of Ulster and Queen’s University Belfast, Orla has a BSc in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, MSc in Food Science and PhD on the subject of meat quality in chickens. She previously lectured at the University of Westminster and held various research positions in Ulster in heart disease and smoking. Orla joined Reading in 2005 as Programme Director for Nutrition and Food Science courses and served as Faculty Director (Teaching and Learning) from 2010 to 2012. She also served as Associate Dean for the Faculty of Science from 2012 to 2014 and Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the Faculty of Life Sciences from 2014 to 2015. She was appointed as the University’s Teaching and Learning Dean for Student Achievement in 2015 and to a Personal Chair in Public Health Nutrition in 2017. Orla has an active research group in Food and Nutritional Sciences investigating food choice and appetite regulation. She has served as a Council Member of the UK Nutrition Society and various committees of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), alongside editorial board membership of the British Journal of Nutrition, British Nutrition Foundation’s Nutrition Bulletin and Biosciences Horizons. Orla was elected academic representative of the University of Reading’s Council from 2014 to 2017 and was elected to the Association for Nutrition Council in 2017, where she is also a member of the Registration Committee. “I am proud to be part of Reading’s vibrant and dynamic Teaching and Learning community, where students, academics and professional services actively work together, to continually enhance our approaches to learning and teaching, both within and outside of the curriculum, with the aim of maximising all our students’ outcomes and experiences, whilst supporting and valuing our staff.” Orla is a Registered Nutritionist and Registered Dietitian and holds Fellowship of the IFST and Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

Research Interest

Orla has an active research group in Food and Nutritional Sciences investigating food choice and appetite regulation.