Who We Are

• Dr Richard Cottrell, Director-General

• Dr Mary Harrington, Assistant to the Director-General

• Dr Alison Boyd, Research Manager

• Joanna Grinsted, Nutrition Information Manager

• Mrs Jenny Clements, Administration Manager
• Mrs Tonny Madsen, Accountant

Richard Cottrell PhD, CChem, RPHNutr, FRSC, FIFST, FRSH Director-General

After graduating in Chemistry from University College London, Richard took his doctorate in biochemistry. His interest in diet and nutrition was kindled during 13 years working in cancer research. He was appointed Science Director of the British Nutrition Foundation in 1984 and worked there until 1989. It was during this time that he first became involved in the public debate on nutrition and food policy issues, lecturing widely and appearing on radio and television. From 1989 - 1993 he was Group Manager for Science at the Leatherhead Food Research Association before joining The Sugar Bureau in January 1993. He was an Officer of the Nutrition Society from 1992 to 2000. Richard is currently Chairman of the Working Group of the Federation of European Sugar Manufacturers and was Chairman of the Scientific and Communications Committee of the World Sugar Research Organisation from 1993 until 2004. Richard was appointed Director-General of the WSRO in May 2004.

Mary Harrington PhD, BSc Assistant to the Director-General

Mary has a BSc. and PhD in nutritional sciences from University College Cork, Ireland. Her PhD research investigated the impact of dietary sodium and protein on bone turnover in postmenopausal women, and was part of a wider EU-funded research project looking at optimal nutrition for osteoporosis prevention. Mary then moved to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich for her postdoctoral work. Here, her research was in the food fortification area, specifically in the fortification of staple foods within developing countries with iron and iodine. She collaborated on three projects with researchers in Thailand, Kenya and Mexico for this work. She is now the Assistant to the Director General of the WSRO where she is involved in a wide range of scientific activities, maintains communication with WSRO Members and monitors relevant WHO, FAO and CODEX issues.

Alison Boyd PhD, BSc, RD, RNutr Research Manager

Alison’s interest in Nutrition and Health led her to complete an Honours Degree in Human Nutrition at the University of Ulster in 1993 with State Registration in Dietetics. On graduating, she pursued a career in Nutritional Research and completed a doctorate at UUC. The thrust of her work centred on Diabetes, focusing on the pathogenesis of this condition. On completion of her PhD in 1997, she was appointed Senior Dietitian at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where she specialised in Nutritional Support. As Research Manager of WSRO, Ali co-ordinates the Research Programme, funding research in order to improve the quality of scientific evidence on the role of sugar in a healthy diet. Ali is a member of the Scientific and Communications Committee for the World Sugar Research Organisation, and a member of the British Dietetic Association, Nutritionists in Industry, Nutrition Society, Diabetes UK, and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Joanna Grinsted BSc (Hons) ANutr Nutrition Information Manager

Jo graduated from King’s College London with a BSc (Hons) degree in Nutrition. Her final year dissertation concentrated on the incidence of obesity in the Western Pacific Islands. She joined The Sugar Bureau team in October 2003 as Nutrition Scientist. Her role is pivotal to the smooth running of both the Bureau and WSRO. Jo studies the scientific literature to keep abreast of the latest nutrition research, and summarises key papers for the team. Jo is a member of The Nutrition Society; the Nutritionists in Industry Group and the Association for the Study of Obesity. She is also a Registered Associate Nutritionist.

back to top