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Staff Profile

Dr Fiona Malcomson

Lecturer in Human Nutrition

Background

I am a Lecturer in Human Nutrition within the Human Nutrition & Exercise Research Centre. I completed my undergraduate degree in Pharmacology (BSc) at Newcastle University in 2010, followed by a Masters in Research (MRes) in 2011. I graduated from my PhD in 2015, investigating the effects of a dietary intervention supplementing healthy participants with dietary fibre on markers of large gut health and colorectal cancer risk. I continued my postdoctoral research at Newcastle University, investigating associations between dietary and lifestyle (adiposity, physical activity) and cancer risk and survival in both human intervention studies and epidemiological observational studies.


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Research

Dietary fibre and colorectal cancer risk

During my PhD and throughout my postdoctoral research, I am investigating the effects of dietary fibre on colorectal cancer risk. In particular, I am interested in the underlying mechanisms through which dietary fibre reduces risk of developing colorectal cancer. During my PhD, I contributed to a dietary intervention (the DISC Study) which supplemented 75 healthy participants with two types of dietary fibre for 7 weeks. My PhD research focussed on the role of WNT signalling in colorectal carcinogenesis and how this regulates processes such as cell proliferation in the large intestine. I am also interested in the modulation of colorectal cancer risk by dietary fibre intake, and other lifestyle factors, via epigenetic mechanisms such as microRNA expression and DNA methylation. More recently, I am investigating the effects of dietary fibre on the gut microbiome, metabolites, and inflammation.


Obesity, weight loss surgery and colorectal cancer risk

As a Post-Doctoral research team member of the Biomarkers Of Colorectal Cancer After Bariatric Surgery (BOCABS) Study, I contributed to investigations of the effects of obesity on markers of colorectal cancer risk, including inflammatory markers, microRNA expression and colonic crypt cell proliferation, and whether these effects are reversed following weight loss induced by bariatric surgery. More recently, I have been investigating the effects of obesity and of bariatric surgery on the gut microbiota and on fecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations as a potential mechanism underlying the effects of obesity on colorectal cancer risk. 


Dietary and lifestyle patterns and biomarkers of cancer risk

My research focusses on applying a holistic approach to the assessment of lifestyle, including assessing whole diets as well as obesity and physical activity. Most studies to date investigate the effects of individual dietary factors, such as red meat, on cancer risk but human diets contain multiple factors that may act together or antagonistically to influence cancer risk. Therefore, the application of a holistic approach which includes assessment of habitual diet and lifestyle patterns may provide a more robust account of relevant exposures. For example, I have explored associations between adherence to the WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations, Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII; inflammatory potential of diet), and ‘A Body Shape Index’ (ABSI), with markers of gut health and colorectal cancer risk, as well as with cancer incidence.  


Lifestyle, healthy ageing and colorectal cancer risk

Ageing is the strongest, non-modifiable risk factor for colorectal cancer. , and how well we age is affected by our lifestyle and diet. To date, there is little evidence from longitudinal studies of the effects of ageing on markers of colorectal cancer risk and how these are modulated by lifestyle factors (for example exacerbated by obesity and by unhealthy diets). As a Research Associate, I led the Biomarkers Of Risk of Colorectal Cancer (BORICC) Follow-Up (BFU) Study- the first longitudinal study to investigate the effects of 12 years of ageing and lifestyle factors on markers of colorectal cancer risk and healthy ageing (e.g. musculoskeletal function). My molecular research within the BFU Study includes the effects of lifestyle factors, such as diet and obesity, and ageing on markers of colorectal cancer risk, as well as the use of surrogate tissues (e.g. cell-free DNA) and analyses of mitochondrial markers. 


Epidemiological research into healthy lifestyle patterns and cancer risk

I am Co-Investigator on a World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)-funded study (CALIPER UK) investigating associations between dietary and lifestyle patterns and cancer risk and survival in the UK Biobank. This is a large prospective cohort study that recruited over 500,000 across the UK, and collected information on sociodemographics, diet, and lifestyle as well as health-related outcomes including cancer incidence and mortality. In particular, I am investigating whether greater adherence to the WCRF/AICR lifestyle Cancer Prevention Recommendations is associated with lower risk of developing cancers and, in those with cancer, improved cancer survival.


Research projects:


CALIPER UK- Investigating adherence to the WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations and Cancer Risk and Survival in the UK (funded by the World Cancer Research Fund; Co-Investigator)


PURE-EX: EXpanding into communities to imProve lifestyle sUpport foR womEn after breast cancer (funded by Breast Cancer Now; Co-Investigator)

Teaching

PhD/MPhil student supervision:

I have supervised >60 student research projects, from undergraduate and postgraduate degrees e.g., Master of Public Health, and international visiting students e.g., ERASMUS students. I am also supervisor for PhD and MPhil students.

  • Exploring the effect of dietary fibre on colorectal cancer risk mediated by functional microbial metabolites (current PhD student)
  • Interaction between selenium status and gut microbiota in the modulation of colorectal cancer risk markers (current MPhil student)
  • Ageing, colonic health, obesity and the gut microbiota (Clinical PhD; 2016-2020)
  • Cell-free DNA methylation as a surrogate biomarker for the risk of colorectal cancer (Clinical PhD; 2016-2020)


Undergraduate teaching:

  • Introduction to Nutrition (Module Lead)
  • Practical Skills for Nutrition
  • Macro- and Micronutrients


Postgraduate teaching:

  • Human Nutrition MRes (Module Lead)
  • Dietetics Masters Research Project
  • Nutritional Medicine MSc (Guest Lecturer, University of Surrey)


Publications