Rachel Gillings

Rachel Gillings serves as a Research Associate in Nutritional Neuroscience at the University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School, where she has worked since 2012 within the Department of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine. Her research focuses on diet and healthy aging, with particular emphasis on cognition and cardiovascular health in older populations.

Her educational background includes an MSc in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Reading (2010) and a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science with Nutrition from the University of Bedfordshire (2007).

Dr. Gillings' research interests center on nutritional interventions for healthy brain aging, including Mediterranean diet adherence, physical activity, and dementia prevention. Her work examines how dietary patterns influence cognitive function and cardiovascular health in aging populations, with special attention to at-risk groups for dementia.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on multidomain lifestyle interventions for cognitive health, particularly examining Mediterranean diet components, physical activity, and their combined effects on brain aging. Her research increasingly incorporates technology-assisted approaches and environmental factors in understanding mobility and cognitive function in older adults.

• NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Extension (2024-2026)
• ARC Ageing and Multi-morbidity theme (2019-2024)
• NuBrain: UK Consortium for Optimal Nutrition for Healthy Brain Ageing (2019-2024)
• Diet, physical activity and dementia risk in UK adults: Epidemiology and MedEx feasibility study (2018-2021)

Dr. Gillings has been actively involved in multiple research collaborations, serving as a key researcher on projects funded by Alzheimer's Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Her current work includes the APPLE-Tree intervention study and continued analysis of the MedEx-UK trial data.