The Food for Thought series has been cancelled for 2020, but the topic and speakers will be rescheduled for 2021. For more information or to be added to our events email list, please contact the Academy events team.

How is it that a blob of slime instinctively knows what and how much to eat, yet humans can’t seem to figure it out?

What can a baboon’s diet teach us about the science of obesity in humans?

How do our genes, diet and microbiome work together to inform our risk of disease?

Join us to explore the big questions in nutrition with molecular nutritionist Dr Emma Beckett and nutritional ecologist Professor David Raubenheimer. In the final installment of Food for Thought, our speakers will draw on the Nourishing Australia ten-year plan as well as their own research expertise to deliver an engaging look at the future of nutrition science.

David is a professor of nutritional ecology at the University of Sydney. He studies how nutrients influence animals’ interactions with their environment, using an evolutionary and ecological lens. This involves looking at foraging behaviour, food choices and health of different species from slime moulds to monkeys. These insights can inform our understanding human issues such as obesity and ageing.

Emma is a molecular nutritionist at the University of Newcastle and a sought-after science communicator. She researches at the interface of genetics, taste and the food we eat. She investigates the effects of nutrients such as folate and vitamin D at a cellular level. She also has a diverse portfolio of taste research, examining how the way we taste food changes our food choices and the roles of taste receptors—which aren’t just on our tongues, but are found throughout our body.

Tickets include refreshments at 5.30pm, followed by the talks at 6.00pm - 7.00pm.

This is the final event in a six-part series. For more information about the series, please visit the Academy website.

Please note: By purchasing tickets and attending this event, you agree to adhere to the Australian Academy of Science Participant Code of Conduct.