Staff Profile

Background

Susanna is a senior Public Health Specialty Registrar and NIHR Clinical Lecturer. She completed her PhD in 2017, exploring qualitative and quantitative aspects of home food preparation. Her research interests focus on public health nutrition and obesity, particularly in the context of vulnerable groups and environmental sustainability. Susanna trained to become a medical doctor at the University of Oxford, and has been based in the North East since commencing public health training in 2011. Susanna is a member of the Faculty of Public Health. 

Roles and responsibilities

• National Institute for Health Research Clinical Lecturer, Newcastle University, 2018-present
• Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Health Education North East, 2011-present
• Lancet Commission on Obesity Fellow, 2016-2018
• Former National Institute for Health Research Doctoral Research Fellow, Newcastle University, 2014-17
• Former National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Fellow, Newcastle University, 2012-14

Funding

• Academy of Medical Sciences Starter Grant for Clinical Lecturers, 2021-23, £29,995 Mixed methods study to generate evidence to inform weight management interventions in adult secure care mental health inpatient settings
• British Council Researcher Links Climate Challenge Grant 2021-22, £7,000 Healthy and sustainable cooking practices among school kitchen staff - A pilot project in Campinas, SP, Brazil
• Global Food Security 2018 Food Systems Resilience Development 3rd Call, 2019-2021, £656,000 Transforming and growing relationships within regional food systems for improved nutrition and sustainability (T-GRAINS)
• National Institute for Health Research Doctoral Research Fellowship, 2014-17, £269,000 A mixed methods programme of study on the determinants and health outcomes of home food preparation

Areas of expertise

• Public health
• Public health nutrition
• Environmental sustainability   

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Susanna's main research interests lie in public health nutrition, particularly home food preparation and dietary patterns, and potential relationships with dietary quality, health, vulnerable groups and sustainability. Her wider research focuses on health inequalities and opportunities to improve the public's health.

Teaching experience

MSc Public Health and Health Services Research students

Biomedical Sciences undergraduate students

Food and Human Nutrition undergraduate students

Public health registrars preparing for Faculty of Public Health Part A and Part B examinations

Public health for paediatrics

Supervision experience

Co-supervised two undergraduate BSc students in Food and Human Nutrition

Training

Medical Education Course and Special Study Module at the University of Oxford Medical School

Preparation for Learning and Teaching at Oxford, delivered by the Oxford Learning Institute

• Articles

  • Brown H, Mills S, Albani V. Socioeconomic risks of food insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK: findings from the Understanding Society Covid Survey. BMC Public Health 2022, 22(1), 590.
  • Mills S, Wolfson J, Wrieden W, Brown H, White M, Adams J. Perceptions of 'home cooking': a qualitative analysis from the United Kingdom and United States. Nutrients 2020, 12(1), 198.
  • Mills S. COVID-19, Public Health Measures, Legal Considerations: A Medical Perspective. Judicial Review 2020, 25(2), 71-79.
  • Swinburn BA, Kraak VI, Allender S, Atkins VJ, Baker PI, Bogard JR, Brinsden H, Calvillo A, De Schutter O, Devarajan R, Ezzati M, Friel S, Goenka S, Hammond RA, Hastings G, Hawkes C, Herrero M, Hovmand PS, Howden M, Jaacks LM, Kapetanaki AB, Kasman M, Kuhnlein HV, Kumanyika SK, Larijani B, Lobstein T, Long MW, Matsudo VKR, Mills SDH, Morgan G, Morshed A, Nece PM, Pan A, Patterson DW, Sacks G, Shekar M, Simmons GL, Smit W, Tootee A, Vandevijvere S, Waterlander WE, Wolfenden L, Dietz WH. The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report. The Lancet 2019, 393(10173), 791-846.
  • Mills S, Adams J, White M, Wrieden W, Brown H. Sociodemographic characteristics and frequency of consuming home-cooked meals and meals from out-of-home sources: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. Public Health Nutrition 2018, 21(12), 2255-2266.
  • Mills S, White M, Wrieden W, Brown H, Stead M, Adams J. Home food preparation practices, experiences and perceptions: A qualitative interview study with photo-elicitation. PLoS ONE 2017, 12(8), e0182842.
  • Mills S, White M, Brown H, Wreiden W, Kwansicka D, Halligan J, Robalino S, Adams J. Health and social determinants and outcomes of home cooking: a systematic review of observational studies. Appetite 2017, 111, 116-134.
  • Mill SDH, Brown H, Wrieden WL, White M, Adams J. Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2017, 14, 109.
  • Mills S, White M, Robalino S, Wrieden W, Brown H, Adams J. Systematic review of the health and social determinants and outcomes of home cooking: protocol. Systematic Reviews 2015, 4(5), 35.
  • Mills S, Wright T. Access to food retail outlets in County Durham, UK: a pragmatic cross-sectional study. The Lancet 2015, 385(Suppl 1), S70.
  • Mills SD, Tanner LM, Adams J. Systematic literature review of the effects of food and drink advertising on food and drink-related behaviour, attitudes and beliefs in adult populations. Obesity Reviews 2013, 14(4), 303-314.
  • Tanner LM, Moffatt S, Milne E, Mills SDH, White M. Socio-economic and behavioural risk factors for adverse winter health and social outcomes in economically developed countries: a systematic review of quantitative observational studies. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2013, 67(12), 1061-1067.
  • Braddick O, Birtles D, Mills S, Warshafsky J, Wattam-Bell J, Atkinson J. Brain responses to global perceptual coherence. Journal of Vision 2006, 6(6), 426a.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Mills S, Furness E, Clear AK, Mitchell Finnigan S, Meador E, Milne AE, Sharp RT, Sanderson Bellamy A. The role of community-supported agriculture in building health and sustainability into UK diets: a mixed methods study. In: UK Public Health Sciences. 2022, The Lancet.
  • Mills S, Albani V, Brown H. Estimating the direct and indirect risks of becoming food insecure during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional analysis using UK cohort data. In: UK Public Health Sciences. 2022, Elsevier.

• Note

  • Adams J, Mills SDH. Consuming meals prepared at home more frequently appears to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, weight gain and obesity. Evidence-Based Medicine 2017, 22(1), 38.