Rachel Woods

Dr Rachel Woods is an Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham's School of Medicine.

After graduating with a degree in Public Health Nutrition from Sheffield Hallam University, Rachel began working as a Research Assistant in Human Nutrition at the University of Cambridge. Working on the Genetics of Obesity Study, Rachel was part of a clinical team investigating children and adults with genetic mutations resulting in obesity.

Following this, she completed a BBSRC Industrial CASE PhD at the University of Nottingham's School of Medicine. Her PhD research was examining nutrition in early life and how this can affect the risk of metabolic disease. This work was in collaboration with Danone's Human Milk Research Group, and she spent time working at the Danone Nutricia Research Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

After completing her PhD, Rachel went on to work as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Loughborough University. Running a clinical trial investigating the human microbiome, probiotics and their relationship with metabolic health. Rachel's work was particularly focused on the effect of high-fat diets on insulin sensitivity. Other projects included muscle and adipose tissue biopsy studies, and investigations into intestinal permeability.