I pride myself on helping others understand their own bodies and on being able to communicate nutritional science in an understandable way.

I am fascinated with nutrition, martial arts, strength and conditioning, and the interplay between all of these areas. I am also an avid food lover. My formal nutrition and exercise science studies span >10 years but my interest extends far beyond this. Throughout my career I have trained, coached and competed (very often) whilst completing a degree in health science (majoring in nutrition & exercise science); achieving 1^st class honours for my research thesis in molecular nutrition, a master’s degree in dietetics and a PhD in sports nutrition. I hold both Accredited Sports Dietitian and Accredited Practising Dietitian status with Sports Dietitians Australia and the Dietitians Association of Australia respectively.  My PhD thesis was entitled “Optimising Acute Body Mass Management in Australian Olympic Combat Sports”, which I completed through the University of the Sunshine Coast (Queensland Australia) while working as a dietitian at the Australian Institute of Sport as the lead dietitian for the Australian Olympic Combat Sport athletes leading into and following the 2016 Rio Olympics. During this time I was fortunate enough to work with many of the best judo, boxing, taekwondo and wrestling athletes in Australia, including commonwealth games and Olympic athletes. My research projects focused on weight cutting techniques, body composition and pragmatic approaches to working with combat sport athletes. I was fortunate enough to take home first prize in the “Young investigator award” at the 2016 European College of Sports Science annual congress in Vienna, for my abstract and mini-oral presentation ‘Rapid weight loss in Olympic combat sports’.

During my career and university yearsI have had to balance study and work commitments on top of training 6-7 days a week and competing, hence have gained unique experience and perspective as a real everyday person, athlete, scientist, student and coach.

On the mat I am by no means a superstar however I have ensured to never let life get in the way of pursuing my athletic pursuits. I hold a black belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and managed to take home gold in the heavyweight division at the 2016 UAEJJF Abhu Dhabi Pro International trials in Sydney, Australia. My prior achievements include winning gold medals at all belt levels up to and including the brown belt level at state, national and the pan pacific level and a silver medal in the heavy weight brown belt division at the IBJJF Asian Open 2015. My passion for jiu-jitsu is on equal footing with my passion for all things nutrition and food, and I could not live without all of these things.

Over the course of my professional career I’ve worked with many athletes and have had the privilege to present to groups as diverse as sports scientists at the largest international conferences, the Filipino national boxing team, to members of the Japanese judo team all the way to the corporate sector, where I’ve delivered nutrition, exercise and lifestyle seminars to senior management and staff in both the white collar and blue collar work forces.

I currently work as a Senior Scientist with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute where I have the opportunity to design, implement and manage research projects and provide support to elite athletes across a diverse range of sports. I also routinely work with BJJ athletes, MMA fighters and local, national and world championship fighters. Furthermore I am able to exchange ideas with leading sports scientists from around the world and I act as reviewer for combat sports, nutrition and exercise science articles for multiple peer reviewed scientific journals.

Lastly, I have a real passion for helping people achieve their athletic and body composition goals through nutrition and it is probably my most important trait. I believe in what I do and will work with you to get the results you want.