Jo Cecil

Biography

I graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA (Hons), MA degree in Biological Anthropology in 1993 and then undertook a post-graduate teaching qualification in Biological Sciences (PGCE) from the University of Cambridge in 1994. I gained my PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sheffield, where I conducted human research into the role of gastrointestinal lipid on eating behaviour. Following this, I moved to Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, USA in 1999 to take up a post doc position. There, I investigated gastrointestinal mechanisms underlying the control of food intake using animal models in collaboration with researchers in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2000, I took up a research position in the Department of Psychology at the University of Dundee to conduct research in pre-pubertal children, investigating synergy between genotype & behavioural phenotype in the maintenance of energy balance. In 2004 I was appointed as a Lecturer at the University of St Andrews. I have investigated the relationship between genotype and behavioural phenotype in the maintenance of child energy balance, where variants of candidate genes for common obesity including PPARG and FTO have been examined and shown to moderate appetite and energy intake. I have investigated the influence of reward related gene polymorphisms on the hedonic response to food and overconsumption in adults and characterised resistance and susceptibility to weight change in first year University Students with colleagues at the Universities of Leeds and Dundee. More recently I have been involved in a collaborative EU Marie Curie funded IAPP project examining liking and intake of vegetables in children with partners from the Universities of Leeds, Glasgow Caledonian and Aberdeen and industry partners from Danone Medical and Baby Nutrition. Currently, I am investigating dietary health through portion control by examining and exploiting environmental ‘prompts’ as part of a collaboration between scientists at the Universities of St Andrews, Leeds and Sheffield, funded by the BBSRC: 'Downsizing: using environmental cues to acquire healthy portion control in children, adolescents and their families'. I am also developing a research program into GP Patient communication around weight management with colleagues at the University of St Andrews.

Research Interest

My research focus is on the bio-psychological controls of appetite, eating behaviour and obesity.