Paul Jefcoate Email & Phone Number

Prior to enrolment onto a Ph.D. programme, I gained experience as a Nutrition Consultant supporting clients with their endeavours to make sustainable health-related lifestyle changes. Working alongside members of the public highlighted some of the challenges faced when attempting to adopt new dietary behaviours, stimulating my interest in a Ph.D. research project exploring the potential effects and 'simplicity' of reviewing meal timing and the effect this may have on our health. Over 4-years of research concluded with a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences and a thesis investigating the physiological and behavioural effects of time-restricted eating. Through the disruption caused by the pandemic I picked up critical skills in problem solving and adapting to challenges after amending my research to include an online questionnaire which was later published in the journal, Nutrients. Independently driven research involving human participants initially required and subsequently further developed skills in organisation, time-management and project-management to coordinate tasks including screening and recruitment, running study days, processing biological samples, handling data, analysing data, and writing up the thesis. Over the course of one year in which the primary study was conducted, I demonstrated versatility to my training by accumulating skills in phlebotomy, eye tracking, continuous glucose monitoring, qualitative interviewing, statistical analysis, and manuscript writing. External activities in the field of nutrition involve being a Member of the Association for Nutrition's (AfN) Certification Committee for over 3 years and a longstanding course certification reviewer with more than 6-years experience applying my knowledge of nutrition to assess and certify the evidence-based content of short and long-term nutrition courses from the leisure and catering industries.