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Biography

Dr Scott is a Postdoctoral Research Associate for the Priority Research Centre in Asthma and Respiratory Diseases. She undertook her PhD studies between 2008 and 2011 within the Centre. Her PhD investigated the association between obesity and asthma, where she was the first to propose a plausible inflammatory mechanism driving the association. This led her to investigate the effect of weight loss on asthma outcomes and airway inflammation, where her background in Nutrition and Dietetics positioned her well to play a major role in both the design and conduct of the weight loss intervention. Currently, Dr Scott is utilising her expertise in dietetics to perform weight loss counselling in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and her clinical expertise on several other projects. She is chief investigator for a project examining the long-term effects of weight loss on COPD outcomes and is working towards conducting postdoctoral research further examining the inflammatory effects of obese-asthma.

The excellence of Dr Scott’s work has been recognised externally as she was recently awarded the Nutrition Society of Australia and Nestle Nutrition Institute Emerging Researcher Award, 2011. She was the secretary of the Newcastle Branch of the Nutrition Society of Australia for 2010 and 2011, and was promoted to co-chair of the group for 2012. Dr Scott plans to utilise her expertise in nutrition, weight loss counselling, body composition analysis and respiratory disease to achieve her research objective of developing a better understanding of the role of dietary factors in respiratory disease, to ensure better nutritional management of this population.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Newcastle, 2012
• Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours), University of Newcastle, 2006

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Research

Research keywords

• Asthma
• Fatty acids
• Inflammation
• Nutrition
• Obesity
• Respiratory Disease

Research expertise

Dr Scott is a Postdoctoral Research Associate for the Priority Research Centre in Asthma and Respiratory Diseases, where she completed her PhD studies. Her research focus is obesity in the context of asthma and inflammation, and the effects of weight loss in asthma. It is well known that there is an association between obesity and asthma, but to date the mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Dr Scott was the first to establish a plausible inflammatory mechanism driving this association and her future work seeks to investigate this further. Dr Scott is a chief investigator of a project examining the long-term effects of weight loss in individuals with COPD. She also works as a Research Associate for the Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, where she is assisting with several publications.

Fields of Research

Description (Code)	%
Medical Biochemistry And Metabolomics Not Elsewhere Classified(110199)	50
Respiratory Diseases(110203)	50

Centres and Groups

Centre

• Hunter Medical Research Institute
• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Asthma & Respiratory Diseases

Group

• Hunter Medical Research Institute - VIVA