Dr. Aisling Aherne is a nutrition scientist with more than two decades of experience spanning nutritional biochemistry, human health, and the interface between food science and regulatory science. Aisling holds a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry and a BSc in Nutritional Sciences from University College Cork.
Aisling is a Registered Nutritionist (RNutr) with the Association for Nutrition, a Fellow of the Association for Nutrition (FAfN), a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (FIFST), and a Chartered Scientist (CSci)—credentials that reflect her sustained contributions to evidence generation, scientific governance, and professional standards in nutrition science. She has held multiple leadership roles across industry and professional bodies, including serving as current Chair of Nutritionists in Industry and previously as Chair of the Food Drink Ireland Public Affairs Group.
Across her career, Dr. Aherne has held scientific and regulatory roles within the food and pharmaceutical sectors, where she has led work on nutrient function claims, health claim substantiation, and the translation of emerging nutrition science into compliant, evidence‑based communication. In addition, Aisling is an Accredited Menopause Specialist supporting evidence‑based approaches to midlife women’s health.
Dr. Aherne currently serves as Senior Nutrition Scientist at the Kerry Health and Nutrition Institute (KHNI), where she focuses on strengthening the scientific rigor of industry communication and advancing the translation of complex nutrition science for technical, regulatory, and public audiences.
Nutrition is inherently multidisciplinary, drawing from the physical sciences, medicine, public health, psychology, sociology, and increasingly, planetary health 1. Therefore, nutrition science research is essential for advancing our understanding of human health and supporting evidence based decision making. Research in this space aims to clarify how nutrients, bioactives, and other food components influence health, inform dietary… Read more »
Globally, there are approximately 2.1 billion adults who currently are overweight or have obesity. It is forecast that this will substantially rise to around 3.2 billion by 2050 – accounting for almost 60% of the adult population 1. This highlights that traditional approaches to curbing the prevalence of overweight and obesity have had limited success. … Read more »
The elderberry plant, Sambucus nigra L., possesses a rich history, deeply embedded in traditional medicine and folklore across continents for centuries 1, 2. Various parts of the plant, including the bark, leaves, flowers, and berries, were utilised by ancient and native cultures for a wide array of medicinal and practical applications. This long history as… Read more »
The role of hydration in the body The human body is composed of approximately 55 – 60% water, and it constitutes 95% of the eyes, 83% of blood, 75% of muscles and the brain, 22% of bones. This water is distributed between intracellular fluid (ICF), which makes up about two-thirds of the body’s water, and… Read more »
Salt intake is significantly higher than the daily recommendation in many countries. What is being done globally to reduce salt intake, and how effective have these strategies been?
It is estimated that the world’s population will reach 10 billion in the year 2060 1. Furthermore, with as much as 40% of food lost or wasted from production to consumption, a major inefficiency persists in global food systems — despite nearly one in three people experiencing food insecurity 2. Food sits at the centre… Read more »
There’s a global focus on reducing calories in foods to improve consumer health, but one question many have is ‘which products do we focus on?’ Kerry’s recent study, ConsumerFirst, revealed useful insights into calorie reduction strategies for the food and beverage industry. Specifically, the results give guidance about which product categories and sub-categories where calorie… Read more »
Media coverage on the role of red and processed meat in a healthy diet is a constant back and forth between claims it will cause cancer to claims it can improve health. We sat down with two of our nutrition experts, Aisling Aherne, PhD, RNutr and Aoife Murphy, PhD, to see what their guidance would… Read more »
Summary (scroll down for an infographic summary) Speakers Sugar Reduction Around the World – Consumer, Health & Legislation Demands: Aisling Aherne, PhD, RNutr, Nutrition Science Manager, Kerry Overcoming the Complexities of Reduced Sugar: Ashley Baker, VP RD&A, Kerry In a world that loves sugar’s familiar qualities…where do you start for its successful reduction? Sugar ranks at the… Read more »
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