Dr Alice Lucey, BSc (Nutritional Sciences), PhD (Nutrition), RNutr (Public Health Nutrition), PG Dip (TLHE)·& PG Cert (Innovation, Commercialisation & Entrepreneurship).

Dr Alice Lucey is a Registered Nutritionist (RNutr) with the Association for Nutrition (UK), Senior Lecturer in Nutrition in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork (UCC), and Principal Investigator at both the Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research and the Research Ireland-funded Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. Her research focuses on nutrition, healthy ageing, and sustainable food systems, with a particular emphasis on developing innovative food-based solutions that support both human and planetary health.

Dr Lucey leads a multidisciplinary research programme centred on Nutrition and Healthy Ageing, with a strong focus on designing consumer-oriented food innovations that promote health and well-being within the context of sustainable diets. Her research spans the interface between nutrition, food innovation, agriculture, and public health and has attracted significant national and European funding, including support from Framework Programme 7 (FP7), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Research Ireland, Food for Health Ireland, and Meat Technology Ireland.

With twenty years experience designing and coordinating food and dietary intervention studies at both national and European levels, Dr Lucey is recognised as a leading expert in nutrition-focused food systems research. Her work is particularly relevant to the Irish agri-food sector, where she has developed a strong research programme focused on nutrition-informed Farm-to-Fork strategies and sustainable food innovation. She has led the development of novel berry-based food products for the healthy ageing and performance nutrition sectors, generating scientific evidence to demonstrate their health benefits and commercialisation potential. This translational research exemplifies her commitment to delivering value across the food system, from primary production through to consumer health outcomes.

Committed to ensuring that research delivers tangible societal and economic benefits, Dr Lucey recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Innovation, Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship (Food) at UCC. Her research outputs include numerous peer-reviewed publications and extensive engagement with stakeholders across academia, industry, government, regulatory bodies, charities, and wider society. Her work has informed policy development and evidence-based recommendations in areas including food security, food regulation, nutrition policy, and micronutrient requirements, with research cited by international organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Dr Lucey currently leads a dynamic team of PhD and MSc researchers and is passionate about developing the next generation of scientists working at the intersection of nutrition, food innovation, sustainability, and public health. Through her research, teaching, mentorship, and stakeholder engagement activities, she continues to drive innovation that supports healthier populations, more resilient food systems, and a sustainable future.

Research Interests: Research interests include the impact of food-based strategies (including vitamins D and K; dietary bioactives, fruit, vegetables, dietary fibre) on cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal health outcomes. 

As a funded investigator within the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Dr Lucey leads research aimed at supporting the transition towards healthier, more nutritious diets with lower environmental impacts. Her work contributes to the development of a nationally representative household cohort of 5,000 individuals, generating evidence to support dietary transitions that are nutritionally adequate, socially acceptable, and environmentally sustainable. Through co-creative research with citizens, policymakers, industry partners, and community stakeholders, she seeks to transform food environments, enhance dietary diversity, and drive innovation across the agri-food sector.

Dr Lucey also serves as Nutrition Lead within the Research Ireland-funded Microbe Restore research platform, led by Professor Jens Walter. Her research has focused on the reformulation of staple cereal foods by increasing dietary fibre content while reducing accessible starch levels, advancing knowledge at the intersection of food technology, nutrition, and microbiome science. This work has important implications for food reformulation policy, public health nutrition, and industry innovation, while also creating significant opportunities for commercialisation and impact.

Dr Lucey has a distinct interest the Irish agri-food sector and nutrition-informed ‘Farm-to-Fork’ strategies and food systems. She has led and currently leads on Irish DAFM-funded multi-disciplinary projects [Cardio-Rubus project [Beneficial effects of blackberry (Rubus polyphenols on cardiovascular & metabolic health & RubusElite project [Development of a high protein, polyphenol enriched dairy beverage for musculoskeletal benefit in physically active individuals]]. This research is focused on the development and the subsequent testing for physiological efficacy of high value novel blackberry enriched foods to support consumer health, to encourage food innovation and to act as a stimulus for growth in the Irish berry fruit horticulture sector and broader food enterprise.

Dr Alice Lucey is a Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and former Academic Programme Director of the BSc Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork. She has been a Lecturer in Nutritional Science at the School of Food & Nutritional Sciences since April 2017. Dr Lucey is a Registered Nutritionist (Association for Nutrition (AfN), UK) and completed her BSc (Nutritional Sciences) and PhD in Nutrition at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences. Teaching qualifications June 2012: Awarded a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (UCC) June 2018: Awarded a Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (UCC) Teaching activities Scope and Breadth of teaching: In addition to her role in the coordination of the BSc (Nutritional Science) Programme, Dr Lucey teaches nutrition across fifteen modules on ten different academic programmes*, ranging from fundamental nutrition to specialist areas including Animal Nutrition, Lifecycle Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition and Nutritional Epidemiology. Dr Lucey has a long-standing relationship with the Food Industry Training Unit (FITU) at UCC and has delivered and currently coordinates the delivery of nutrition modules to the Irish Food Sector, additionally, Dr Lucey collaborates with Adult Continuing Education (ACE) and has developed and oversees a bespoke nutrition module for the recently established PG Diploma (Irish Food Culture). *The collaborative nature of Alice’s teaching mandates tailored nutrition lectures to a diverse range of student cohorts: BSc (Nutritional Science), BSc (Food Science), BAgrSc (Agricultural Science), BSc (Food Marketing & Entrepreneurship), BSc (International Development), BSc (Public Health), PG Diploma (Nutritional Science), PG Diploma (Irish Food Culture) (ACE, UCC), Diploma (Food Science & Technology) (UCC) and Diploma (Speciality