Dr Bahareh Mansoorian is a Lecturer and Programme Lead for BSc (Hons) Nutrition at QMU.
- Overview
- Research Interests
- Teaching & Learning
Bahareh is a Nutritionist and Dietitian with experience in research, private consulting, public engagement, and higher education. She graduated from Bangalore University with a BSc in Dietetics and Nutrition (Dietetics, Nutrition, Chemistry and Zoology majors) in 2007, followed by an MSc in Nutrition (Clinical Nutrition - Medical Sci.) from the University of Glasgow in 2009.
She then pursued a PhD in the area of gut microbiome and food matrix interactions with an interest in cardiovascular disease prevention. During her PhD, Bahareh studied the food matrix interactions between dietary fibres and polyphenolics, and their subsequent impact on the colonic microbiome and overall health. She especially enjoyed working with cocoa polyphenolics and exploring their potential health applications. Her PhD was a start to her interest in systems biology and metabolomics, for use in disease prevention and diagnostics.
Her post-doc at the University of Glasgow and in collaboration with Mosaiques Diagnostics-Hannover was in the field of proteomics and systems biology, allowing her to combine her interests in nutrition, health, systems biology and disease prevention. During her post-doc, she had the opportunity to work as part of an international team led by Prof Harald Mischak and Dr Bill Mullen, to establish unique proteomic biomarkers for disease conditions with the aim to establish clinically applicable biomarkers for a range of chronic diseases.
This included the Dietary Oil Composition study in collaboration with BBC Trust Me I'm a Doctor, investigating the impact of dietary oil composition on cardiovascular disease biomarkers. In parallel to her research interests, Bahareh pursued her passion for public engagement and science communication. In 2021 she co-created Trig Point in collaboration with her colleague at Strathclyde University.
Trig Point is an initiative with an aim to enhance science and research communication, and to promote cross-disciplinary collaborations. Bahareh’s career as a lecturer began as a guest lecturer at QMU in 2016 and 2017.
This was followed by a lecturing post at the University of Glasgow - School of Medicine for the MSc (Med Sci) Human Nutrition programme. Bahareh then returned to QMU as a permanent lecturer in 2019 and took on the role of Nutrition Programme Lead in 2020.
As part of her lecturing role at QMU, Bahareh has developed The Curious Club, a free membership club where staff and students alike meet in a relaxed and democratic environment to critically discuss current events in the field of nutrition, and to debate controversial topics in the field.
Affiliations & Memberships to other organisations:
- Association for Nutrition – Registered Nutritionist
- Nutrition Science Nutrition Society – Full member and Academic Representative
- Trigpoint - Director
- Association for the Study of Obesity - Member
- BAPEN - Member
- IAPEN - Life Member
- University of Glasgow, School of Medicine - Affiliate
Bahareh's PhD focussed on food matrix interactions and the gut microbiome. While most research investigates the impact of dietary fibres and polyphenolics on the microbiome and health individually, these components of our diet are habitually consumed alongside each other.
Bahareh's research demonstrated the importance of investigating the matrix interactions between dietary fibre and polyphenolics on the gut microbiome and how their impact in combination differs to when investigated individually.
Her post-doc research was focused on the development of unique proteomic biomarkers for chronic conditions with clinical applications. The proteomic biomarkers enable disease diagnosis in early stages prior to the development of lasting symptoms. Such biomarkers allow for research into the impact of diet on disease prevention.
Recently Bahareh has expanded her research to the sociological elements of nutrition by investigating the impact of Covid-19 on the development of screen dysmorphia, and subsequent impact on eating and physical activity behaviours.
Active Research Interests:
- Impact of nutrients on gut, oral, and skin microbiome
- Impact of polyphenolics on bacterial growth
- Impact of Covid-19 on screen dysmorphia, and subsequently on eating and physical activity behaviours
- Impact of dietary fibres and microbial metabolites on cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes prevention
- Impact of diet on thyroid function
- Sustainable dietary solutions
- Food matrix interactions
Research Methods:
- Analytical biochemistry, with emphasis on gas / liquid chromatography mass spectrometry
- Analysis of urinary peptides for biomarker research using CEMS and MALDI-TOF
- Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial growth culture methods
- In-vitro modelling of human digestion and colonic fermentation (batch cultures)
- Measurement of a wide range of analytes (oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, glucose, cholesterol, hunger and satiety hormones, total, free and bound phenolics)
- Physical activity and Body composition assessment
- Dietary assessment and phlebotomy
- Analysis of gastric emptying and mouth to caecum transit time
Bahareh currently lectures on in the following module areas:
- Nutrition and Clinical nutrition
- Disease aetiology and prevention
- Data driven and evidence-based practice
- Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics
- Weight management
- Public health nutrition
