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Aisling Cassidy is an NPD and Packaging Technologist at Linwoods Health Foods, a leading health food manufacturer based in County Armagh. After graduating from Queen's University Belfast in 2025 with a BSc in Food, Quality, Safety and Nutrition, she joined Linwoods as part of the company's New Product Development team. Her role involves supporting the development of plant-based food products that promote consumer health and wellbeing, taking products from concept through to launch and ensuring packaging is safe, compliant and fit for purpose. Aisling is also a Registered Associate Nutritionist with AfN and has a particular interest in translating nutrition science into practical food solutions that support healthier lifestyles.
Anna is a Specialist Recruitment Consultant at Vickerstock, where she specialises in recruiting across the Food Manufacturing and FMCG sectors, with a particular focus on Technical, Quality and NPD roles. Working closely with food manufacturers and professionals across Northern Ireland and the wider island of Ireland, Anna supports businesses with hiring across a range of levels, from graduate and entry-level positions through to senior and leadership roles. With a strong understanding of what employers are looking for when recruiting within the food industry, Anna works closely with both clients and candidates to identify the skills, experience and qualities that can help candidates stand out in a competitive market. As part of her role, Anna regularly meets with food industry professionals at different stages of their careers and is passionate about helping people understand the opportunities available within the sector and how to successfully progress their careers.
Dr Brídín Nally is the Nutrition Science Lead at the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland (FSA NI), where she leads on research and surveillance projects that help build a picture of what people eat, buy and think about food across Northern Ireland. Her work helps to provide the evidence base that informs nutrition and dietary health policy, helping to shape decisions that support healthier food environments and overall dietary health.
Dr Emily Royle is a Research Associate at the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, with a PhD in Human Nutrition. Her research experience spans a range of funded projects, from investigating novel technologies to improve vitamin D status in swine to household food-basket interventions developed with external collaborators, and more recently, moved into nutrition and implementation science research within the PEACETIME project to improve clinical care for those living with obesity. Alongside her research, Emily has experience of undergraduate teaching and student supervision across undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels. She has also contributed to the wider nutrition and food science community through her professional activities, including serving as Secretary of IFST Northern Ireland.
Dr Erika Rosbotham is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Ulster University’s Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE). She holds a PhD in Nutrition and is a Registered Nutritionist with AfN. Her research focuses on food and nutritional sciences, particularly vitamin D biofortification, nutrient bioaccessibility, digestion, alternative proteins and the relationship between diet and human health. Erika also has a growing interest in food innovation, entrepreneurship and the commercialisation of nutrition research, with a focus on translating scientific evidence into practical, real-world applications.
Hannah is the Technical Training Lead at Pilgrim’s Europe, responsible for leading the Technical Leadership and Development Pathways, to develop and train technical team members to be their best. She works closely with training teams across Pilgrim’s Europe manufacturing sites, to create and deliver a bespoke training provision for all team members. Hannah graduated with BSc (Hons) Food Technology from CAFRE in 2014 and has previous experience in a number of food safety and quality roles in the food manufacturing environment. She is passionate about technical career pathways, supporting and mentoring team members through their career in Pilgrim’s Europe.
Dr Lauren Devine holds a PhD in Human Nutrition from the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, and recently completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellow role within the Institute of Food and Health, University College Dublin (UCD). In her Postdoctoral Research Fellow role, Lauren led the research in UCD on the European-funded project PLAN'EAT, which aims to promote sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours within the university setting using a Living Lab approach. Lauren's research largely focuses on dietary behaviour change strategies, with a particular emphasis on understanding the determinants of dietary behaviours and the co-creation, design and implementation of interventions that support the transition to more sustainable and healthy dietary practices. Lauren has published her research in peer-reviewed journals and regularly presents at scientific conferences.
Lauren is also an active Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) NI Branch committee member since 2019, in which she is currently the IFST NI Branch Vice-Chair. Lauren is also an active member of the Nutrition Society, in which she is a member of the Early Career Member (ECM) section committee and holds the role of the Nutrition Society Publications Social Media Editor (co-lead). Lauren is also a visiting lecturer for Ulster University on Dietetic and Human Nutrition postgraduate and undergraduate modules.
Michael has almost 40 years’ experience in the food industry. Prior to joining NIFDA he worked in the bakery trade in Northern Ireland and Malta for twelve years. During this period he worked closely with major retailers and obtained a place on the senior management board of Ormeau Bakery. Michael holds a Food Science (Hons) degree from The Queen’s University of Belfast. He is also a Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. He holds a Diploma in Company Director from the Institute of Directors. He has been instrumental in the development of NIFDA since its foundation in 1996.
Peter Simpson has spent his career working with businesses across Northern Ireland's agri-food sector, supporting education knowledge transfer. Based at Loughry Campus, he works closely with food and drink manufacturers to help bring new ideas, technologies and products into commercial use. He has a particular interest in food innovation, sustainability and strengthening the competitiveness of Northern Ireland's food industry.
After graduating from Queen’s University Belfast in 2025, I began my graduate role at Food NI, an organisation dedicated to promoting and enhancing the reputation of Northern Ireland’s food, drink and hospitality industry. As a Producer and Event Coordinator, I help organise events, including the NI Food and Drink Pavilion at Balmoral Show, and develop social media campaigns that celebrate local producers, showcase outstanding produce and highlight the people behind Northern Ireland’s thriving food industry.
Sophie brings more than 5 years of valuable industry recruitment experience to Vickerstock. She is passionate about delivering top-notch customer service and takes great pride in establishing strong and enduring relationships with both clients and candidates. Sophie's commitment to excellence makes her a valuable asset to the team, ensuring exceptional experiences for all parties involved in the recruitment process.