Nienke De Vlieger

Dr Nienke De Vlieger is a Lecturer in Food and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Newcastle's School of Environmental and Life Sciences. She holds appointments in the College of Engineering, Science and Environment, and has previously served as a Research Assistant in the School of Health Sciences. Her career bridges social sciences and nutrition, with a PhD from the University of Newcastle and a Master’s in Nutrition & Health from Wageningen University (Netherlands).

Her research focuses on integrating behavioral psychology with nutrition science, particularly in food marketing, child nutrition education, and digital nudging strategies. She co-developed the 'Food Marketing and Consumer Behaviour' course and created the VitaVillage serious game to teach children about healthy eating.

Key achievements include the 2020 Best Abstract Award and a 2018 Innovation Award for interdisciplinary work. She has published extensively on portion size perception, digital food environments, and nutrition education effectiveness. Current research explores nature imagery in food marketing and interventions to combat childhood obesity.

Dr De Vlieger currently co-supervises a PhD project on nature imagery in digital food choice environments. Her work emphasizes practical solutions for healthier food choices, combining academic rigor with real-world educational tools.

Professional roles include teaching Functional Foods and Health Claims, as well as Food Marketing courses. She collaborates widely with researchers in nutrition, health sciences, and behavioral economics to address complex public health challenges.