Megan Jarman

Megan Jarman is a Lecturer in the Applied Health Research Group at Aston Institute of Health & Neurodevelopment, Aston University. Her work focuses on the development of dietary patterns in early childhood, particularly in preschool years. She collaborates across disciplines including nutrition, epidemiology, health psychology, and computer science to understand influences on healthy diet establishment.

Dr. Jarman's educational background includes:

• PG Cert in Teaching in Higher Education from Aston University (2023)
• PhD in Improving the Diets of Preschool Children from University of Southampton (2014)
• MSc in Public Health Nutrition from University of Southampton (2008)

Her research interests center on early childhood nutrition, particularly how dietary patterns develop during preschool years. She employs interdisciplinary approaches, combining nutrition science, epidemiology, and health psychology with computational methods. Her AMBIENT study uses agent-based modeling to simulate multiple influences on diet development, representing an innovative approach to understanding complex nutritional behaviors in young children.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent focus on childhood nutrition, maternal influences on dietary patterns, and methodological innovations in nutritional assessment. Her work spans epidemiological studies, intervention research, and computational modeling, with particular emphasis on how early feeding practices affect long-term health outcomes. She frequently collaborates with international teams and has contributed significantly to understanding the complex interplay between nutrition, behavior, and child development.

Dr. Jarman has received several prestigious awards for her research:

• AXA Research Fund Future Research Leader Fellowship (2019)
• Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016)
• The Louis Bonduelle Research Prize (2010)

As an active researcher and educator, Dr. Jarman leads multiple collaborative projects including the AMBIENT study on agent-based modeling of early nutrition behaviors, research on the Healthy Start Programme in Walsall, and studies examining infant feeding following diabetes in pregnancy. Her work often involves partnerships with public health organizations and international research teams. She serves on the editorial board of Nutrition Journal and regularly presents her findings at academic conferences.

Dr. Jarman is involved with the Agent-based Modelling of Behaviours In Early NuTrition (AMBIENT) research group, which applies computational modeling to understand the complex systems influencing early childhood nutrition. Her work bridges traditional nutritional epidemiology with innovative computational approaches to tackle persistent challenges in childhood dietary interventions.