Dr Amanda Lloyd

BSc: Genetics and biochemistry PhD: Metabolomics and plant pathology

I am a Principal Investigator in Metabolomics, Food Reformulation, and Human Health at Aberystwyth University. I serve as Programme Manager for a £3 million MRC programme grant focused on developing remote methods for assessing dietary intake. As the manager of the Wellness and Health Assessment Research Unit (WARU), I plan, manage, and conduct human health trials investigating both objective and subjective health measures.

With extensive experience collaborating with a diverse range of companies—particularly in the food and drink sector—I am committed to generating both community and public impact alongside academic contributions. I have secured over £2.8 million in grants from organisations including BBSRC, MRC, the Welsh Government, and Innovate UK, and have supported companies in obtaining grants exceeding £500,000.

Currently, I co-manage a laboratory team of eight researchers and technicians, and oversee both dissertation and Master’s students. Additionally, I am an active member of the University Ethics Committee, the WIN Health & Wellbeing Steering Group (which I co-chair), and serve as the EDI representative for the Food Systems CDT. I am also a guest editor for Frontiers in Nutrition and Metabolites, and a reviewer for Metabolomics.

Within the Metabolomics and Diet & Health Teams, I am actively involved in analysing high-dimensional, ultra-high-resolution metabolite fingerprinting and profiling datasets to identify and validate dietary biomarkers in human biofluids, as well as to support the chemical phenotyping of plant and animal products. I have extensive experience in managing human bio- and meta-data and in handling data generated from dietary self-reporting tools, linking this information effectively with metabolomics outputs.

I have developed standardised protocols for nutritional metabolomics investigations, designed to monitor metabolic changes in response to both acute and habitual dietary exposure. These protocols have supported the identification of biomarkers associated with specific food consumption. In collaboration with colleagues, I have contributed to the development of a panel of urinary biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) for the targeted quantification of dietary exposure, used alongside traditional self-reporting methods.

My expertise also extends to the experimental design of human nutritional intervention studies and the development of urine collection methods for use in community-based settings. These tools are used to objectively monitor diet at both individual and population levels under ‘real-world’ conditions. The use of small, posted urine samples collected at home has proven particularly effective for remote dietary monitoring. I supported the design, establishment, and supervision of a complex, long-term clinical trial in collaboration with research partners in France, Spain, and the UK. 

My interest in developing health biomarkers led to my role as Clinical Trials Health Assessments & Scientific Coordinator for the Future Foods programme—a WEFO and Welsh Government-funded initiative that concluded in 2022. This programme supported company-led R&D projects, during which I organised and managed food interventions and clinical trials, contributed to health assessments, and coordinated biofluid collection for analytical analysis. These efforts focused on linking novel and enhanced foods to human health outcomes. Through this work, I explored how dietary exposure monitoring and metabolomics could inform the design of functional foods tailored to individual metabolic profiles (metabotypes).

My long-term vision is to integrate proactive and personalised prevention strategies—such as targeted dietary support and tailored lifestyle advice—with public health initiatives. Empowering individuals with the right information is key to enabling healthier and more sustainable dietary choices.

I was  Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on Welsh Government-funded projects, focused on enhancing and evaluating the health benefits of naturally supplemented foods and drinks. These projects utilise high-resolution metabolomic technologies and multivariate modelling within multiple food intervention trials, where biofluid analysis is used to explore putative health outcomes. Currently I am Principal Investigator and  Co-Investigator on multiple Innovate funded projects ‘Better Food for All’ and ‘Diet and health innovation Early stage feasibility projects’. 

I also serve as Researcher Co-Investigator on the prestigious MRC-funded SODIAT programme, which integrates biomarker technologies, imaging tools, and self-report methods to create a standardised, objective tool for assessing dietary intake in habitual populations, including those that are vulnerable and disadvantaged.

I am currently Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (CoI) on multiple Innovate UK projects. Previously, I served as PI on a Welsh Government-funded COVID Recovery grant and as CoI on five Decarbonisation and COVID Challenge projects, all focused on developing health-enhancing functional foods in Wales and conducting human food intervention trials.

I am the Programme Manager and Researcher CoI on the prestigious MRC programme grant SODIAT, which integrates biomarker technologies, camera/imaging tools, and self-report methods to develop a standardised and objective dietary intake assessment tool. This tool is being tested in habitual populations, including vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

In addition, I am a CoI and named researcher on Healthy for my Baby, a clinic-based study launched in October 2020 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. This study collects multiple spot urine samples pre-conception and during pregnancy, following protocols developed by the Diet, Exercise and Health Research Group at Aberystwyth University.

Prior to this, I was the Health Assessments and Scientific Coordinator for the Future Foods Food Intervention Trials at Aberystwyth University. In collaboration with a team of experienced technicians, I managed several company-led projects, designing and overseeing food interventions to evaluate the effects of new food products on human health and well-being. I also played a key role in co-authoring the successful bid for the Welsh Government Food Development Framework.

I contributed to the launch of the Well-being and Health Assessment Research Unit (WARU) at Aberystwyth University, which has enabled significant research activities to promote health and well-being in the community. Since 2016, I have led the development of many of WARU’s capabilities, including its capacity to conduct small clinical trials that link translational research directly to human health outcomes.