Nazanin Zand

Dr Nazanin Zand BSc Hons, MSc, PhD, MIFST, RSci, FHEA, MInstLM

Associate Professor, Food Science and Nutrition

Dr Nazanin Zand is an Associate Professor in Food and Nutrition, and the Science Portfolio Lead for Enterprise within the Faculty of Engineering and Science at the University of Greenwich. Dr Zand is also the Programme Leader for the MSc in Food Innovation, a newly developed post-graduate degree programme, which attracts significant input from a range of major food companies.

An internationally acclaimed expert in the field of infant nutrition she is the author of several peer reviewed publications and is frequently invited to deliver plenary and other invited lectures at major symposia and at international conferences on food and nutrition. She is regularly engaged with the media, including the BBC, Channel 4, and Channel 5 as an expert in food science and nutrition. Her recent commentary on Food Poverty in the Evening Standard as part of their Food Hunger December 2020 campaign was very well received.

As well as a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management (Inst.LM) Dr Zand is also a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science & Technology (FIFST) providing food and nutrition advice to both the public and private sector such as Kent, Lewisham and Greenwich councils. She is frequently invited to contribute to food related projects including Good Food in Greenwich (GFIG), promotion of healthy nutrition in relation to early life development such as “Eating Well: first year of life Practical guide” published by the Caroline Walker Trust and “Baby food in the UK” First Step Nutrition. Dr Zand's research has also been referenced in Public Health England (2019) rapid scoping review examining the role and impact of commercial baby foods and drinks on the diets of children aged 4 months.

Dr Zand has on-going engagements with large multi-national companies through to small regional SMEs developing new protocols for analytical based optimizations of the nutritional quality of new food products. She has also worked on health claims, labelling and legislation, the application of modified atmosphere packaging in prolonging post-harvest shelf-life and waste reduction of perishable food. Dr Zand also has expertise the analysis of food and the effective implementation of appropriate Total Management Quality Systems /HACCP.  She is the badge holder of Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 8 Lead Auditor and is currently responsible for the accreditation of the ASL laboratory services at the university against ISO 17025:2017.

Dr Zand is member of Kent and Medway NHS Trust Joint Research Collaboration group, All Party Parliamentary Food and Health Forum, and has recently been invited to talk on infant feeding in the UK. She is currently a member of the Research award board of Coeliac UK and is also a Food Standard Agency registered specialist, joining the board of reviewers of the Journal of Foods (JFOOD) (2020). This is in addition to previously serving as a Guest Editor for a Special issue on Infant and Child Nutrition (2015) for JFOOD, Associate Editor (2016) for Food Processing and Technology (MOJFPD), and as an Editorial Board Member for Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition (JPANS).

Biology and biomedical science Human nutrition and health Science

Chemistry

Responsibilities within the university

Supervising research group

  • 4 PhD student
  • 4 MSc Project students
  • 5 Undergraduate project students.

Awards

Dr Zand was the recipient of an Early Career research communicator award (2013)

Recognition

Dr Zand is an elected Member of the Institute of Food Science & Technology (MIFST), actively involved in consultancy work around the application of modified atmosphere packaging in prolonging post-harvest shelf-life and waste reduction, the analysis of food and the strategic implementation of Total Management Quality Systems/HACCP.

Dr Zand is a Registered Scientist (RSci) and has joined (2012) the Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition (JPANS) as an Editorial Board Member.

Dr Zand is a trained auditor and would particularly welcome requests from the food industry and catering services in relation to ISO accreditation, new product development, quality improvement, waste reduction, packaging and nutritional labeling.

Dr Zand welcomes enquiries from potential collaborators regarding the development of functional foods, post harvest preservation of food commodities and innovative packaging.

Services for industry

  • Analytical method development
  • Macronutrient analysis
  • Vitamin analysis by HPLC & LC-MS
  • Mineral and trace element analysis by ICP-OES & ICP–MS.

All of this work to be carried out by an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory.

Media activity

TV appearances:

  1. Channel 5 , Your super Market food, Your super Market food https://www.my5.tv/secrets-of-your-supermarket-food/season-1/secrets-of-your-supermarket-food-22da1f81-254f-4ffa-b1d2-cccbc772e1eb
  2. Evening Standard commentary on Food Poverty Food For London Now: Hidden cost that harms our hungry children | Evening Standard
  3. BBC 1, Morning Live; https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000nxlv/morning-live-series- 1-28102020
  4. BBC 2 Horizon, Honest supermarket https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0006p3j
  5. Channel 4, Food Unwrapped: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/food-unwrapped/on-demand/67949-031
  6. Channel 5 ,Your super Market food https://www.my5.tv/secrets-of-your-supermarket-food/season-1/secrets-of-your-supermarket-food-22da1f81-254f-4ffa-b1d2-cccbc772e1eb
  7. BBC Watchdog, http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03zj8rw/watchdog-test-house-episode-13

Series of Healthy Eating Talks at Schools:

  1. http://benenden.kent.sch.uk/media/news/article/2540/Benenden-Science-Week-2015
  2. http://www.tonbridge-school.co.uk/news/academic/article/date/2014/10/tonbridge-and-benenden-quiz-night/
  3. http://www.futureschoolstrust.com/Food-Expert-To-Hold-Talk-On-Healthy-Eating-15-01-14 (http://www.futureschoolstrust.com/Food-For-Thought)
  4. http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/news/articles/2013/a27
  5. Expert opinion on current epidemiological problems in relation to obesity e.g. Radio Kent interview on children’s obesity. BBC 1 http://www.gre.ac.uk/offices/pr/wtps/what-the-papers-say-january-2015

Recent publications

Article

Ibrahim Elmi, Zakaria Ali , Sighakoli, Sameer, Tetteh, John, Zand Fard, Nazanin (2023), Case–control study of serum vitamin D concentrations in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and hospitalised controls suffering with respiratory tract infections of differing aetiology. BMJ. In: , , , . BMJ, BMJ, Nutrition, Prevention and Health: e000428 . pp. 1-7 2516-5542 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2022-000428).

Ghanizadeh Tabriz, Atabak , Viegas, Beatriz, Okereke, Michael, Uddin, Md Jasim , Arribas Lopez, Elena , Zand Fard, Nazanin , Ranatunga, Medhavi , Getti, Giulia , Douroumis, Dionysios (2022), Evaluation of 3D printability and biocompatibility of microfluidic resin for fabrication of solid microneedles. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, Micromachines, 13: 1368 . pp. 1-16 2072-666X (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13091368).

Arribas-López, Elena , Zand Fard, Nazanin, Ojo, Omorogieva, Snowden, Martin , Kochhar, Tony (2022), A systematic review of the effect of Centella asiatica on wound healing. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19: 3266 (6) . pp. 1-13 1661-7827 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063266).

Arribas Lopez, Elena , Zand Fard, Nazanin, Ojo, Omorogieva, Snowden, Martin , Kochhar, Tony (2021), The effect of amino acids on wound healing: a systematic review and meta-analysis on arginine and glutamine. MDPI AG (Basel, Switzerland). In: , , , . MDPI AG (Basel, Switzerland), Nutrients, 13: 2498 (8) ISSN: 2072-6643 (Print), 2072-6643 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13082498).

Ojo, Omorogieva , Ojo, Osarhumwese Osaretin, Zand, Nazanin, Wang, Xiaohua (2021), The effect of dietary fibre on gut microbiota, lipid profile, and inflammatory markers in patients with Type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, Nutrients, 13: 1805 (6) 2072-6643 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061805).

Thompson, Elinor and , Zand, Nazanin (2020), Tinted semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and electricity on the same cropland. Wiley. In: , , , . Wiley, Advanced Energy Materials, 10: 2001189 (35) . pp. 1-9 ISSN: 1614-6832 (Print), 1614-6840 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202001189).

Thompson, Elinor , Bombelli, EL, Simon, Shubham, Watson, Hamish , Everard, Aldous , Schievano, Andrea , Bocchi, Stefano , Zand Fard, Nazanin , Howe, Christopher J. , Bombelli, Paolo (2020), Tinted semi‐transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and electricity on the same cropland. Wiley. In: , , , . Wiley, Advanced Energy Materials, 10: 2001189 (35) ISSN: 1614-6832 (Print), 1614-6840 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202001189) NB Item availability restricted.

Loughrill, Emma , Thompson, Sharon, Owusu-Ware, Samuel K., Snowden, Martin J. , Douroumis, Dennis , Zand Fard, Nazanin (2019), Controlled release of microencapsulated docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) by spray–drying processing. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Food Chemistry, 286 . pp. 368-375 ISSN: 0308-8146 (Print), (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.01.121).

Loughrill, Emma , Wray, David, Christides, Tatiana, Zand Fard, Nazanin (2016), Calcium to phosphorus ratio, essential elements and vitamin D content of infant foods in the UK: possible implications for bone health. Wiley. In: , , , . Wiley, Maternal and Child Nutrition, 13: e12368 (3) ISSN: 1740-8695 (Print), 1740-8709 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12368).

Loughrill, Emma , Govinden, Pesila, Zand Fard, Nazanin (2016), Vitamins A and E content of commercial infant foods in the UK: A cause for concern?. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Food Chemistry, 210 . pp. 56-62 ISSN: 0308-8146 (Print), (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.04.014).

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