Prof. Audrey Tierney

Professor Audrey Tierney is an Associate Professor and Discipline Lead in Human Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Allied Health (SAH), University of Limerick.

Audrey teaches modules on the MSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics in UL, an interfaculty program which she founded in the SAH and launched in 2018.

Audrey’s areas of interest and expertise are in evaluating a whole of diet approach (focussing particularly on the Mediterranean Diet) on outcome measures associated with an inflammatory pathogenesis in diet related diseases. Audrey’s clinical area of expertise is in the nutritional management of respiratory related diseases, mainly Cystic Fibrosis. Audrey is also researching the research to practice gap in the area of diet and disease and utilising implementation science to improve access to a high-quality diet and uptake of same in populations with chronic disease.

Audrey graduated with a first-class honours in a BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics from Technological University Dublin and Trinity College Dublin in 2003 and a PhD in Nutrition and Nutrigenomics from Trinity College Dublin in 2008. Audrey is a CORU registered (DI024929) and Accredited Practicing Dietitian (Australia).

Audrey has led and been involved in research funded by the Health Research Board, Erasmus + EU Collaborative Grants and previously by Australian funding bodies.

Audrey is leading a HRB funded grant ‘Exploring Diet Quality in Cystic Fibrosis – enablers and barriers to eating a healthy diet in CF’.

Co-applicant on a North-South Research Programme grant entitled ‘Improving prevention, recognition and management of delirium across the island of Ireland through the co-design of an interdisciplinary digital resource for undergraduate healthcare students: DelHPIre (Delirium Health Professionals Ireland).

Audrey has carried out research investigating the effects of a Cretan Mediterranean Diet in the secondary prevention of Heart Disease (the AusMed Study), in Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (MEDINA study) and in Rheumatoid Arthritis (MEDRA study).

Audrey is a member of the Mediterranean Lifestyle Medicine Institute https://medlifestyle.org/ and leads the Research Working Group.

Audrey is supervising two PhD students on the European Project GoGreen Routes in the area of sustainability. She is also a member of the Climate Health Alliance who recently published a position paper ‘Fixing Food Together: transitioning Ireland to a healthy and sustainable food system’ https://climateandhealthalliance.wordpress.com/2023/05/16/fixing-food-together-report-launched/

Professor Tierney has been on the local organising committees for the Nutrition Society conference, held in UL in in 2021 and the International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods, held in June 2023.   

Audrey has supervised 8 PhD students to completion and is currently supervising 7 PhD students.

Audrey is a founding member of the Health Implementation Science and Technology research cluster in the HRI with the aim to strengthen knowledge and build expertise in the field of Implementation Science, through research, collaboration, and capacity building https://www.ul.ie/hri/health-implementation-science-and-technology-hist