Principal Investigator

David Cameron-Smith is Senior Principal Investigator at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (A*STAR), and leads research on dietary protein and lipid metabolism at the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre. David received his PhD in nutritional biochemistry from the Deakin University in Australia. Following postdoctoral training at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, he returned to an academic appointment at the School of Health Sciences, Deakin University. In 2009, he moved to the University of Auckland, New Zealand as the University Chair in Nutrition a role that included being Director of the National Science Challenge, High Value Nutrition. Professor Cameron-Smith has authored over 230 peer-reviewed publications in areas of nutritional clinical interventions, with complementary analysis of health impacts in areas of obesity, diabetes and ageing, using advanced analytics including lipidomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics. At SICS, David’s research group is focused on building the scientific evidence for Future Foods, a part A*STAR funding and expansion of the Singapore Food Story. This is a research strategy to extend Singaporean capabilities in the advanced biotech-based food manufacture, with the aim of providing clinically-validated food solutions for improve health in the face of the dual challenges of rising metabolic disease and population aging.

1. Vella L, Markworth JF, Farnfield MM, Maddipati KR, Russell AP, Cameron-Smith D (2019). Intramuscular inflammatory and resolving lipid profile responses to an acute exercise bout of resistance exercise in men. Physiological Reports 7(13):e14108. doi: 10.14814/phy2.14108.
   
   
2. Prodhan UK, Milan AM, Thorstensen EB, Barnett MPG, Stewart RAH, Benatar JR, Cameron-Smith D. (2019). Altered Dairy Protein Intake Does Not Alter Circulatory Branched Chain Amino Acids in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients, 10(10). pii: E1510. doi: 10.3390/nu10101510.
   
   
3. Mitchell CJ, D'Souza RF, Mitchell SM, Figueiredo VC, Miller BF, Hamilton KL, Peelor FF 3rd, Coronet M, Pileggi CA, Durainayagam B, Fanning AC, Poppitt SD, Cameron-Smith D. (2018). The impact of dairy protein during limb immobilization and recovery on muscle size and protein synthesis; a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Applied Physiology, 124(3):717-728.
   
   
4. Mitchell CJ, Milan AM, Mitchell SM, Zeng N, Ramzan F, Sharma P, Knowles SO, Roy NC, Sjödin A, Wagner K-H, Cameron-Smith, D.(2017). The effects of dietary protein intake on appendicular lean mass and muscle function in elderly men: a 10 week randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 106(6):1375-1383.
   
   
5. Markworth JF, Kaur G, Miller EG, Larsen AE, Sinclair AJ, Maddipati KR, Cameron-Smith D. (2016). Divergent shifts in lipid mediator profile following supplementation with n-3 docosapentaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. FASEB J, 30(11): 3714-25.

Ciarán Forde is Principal Investigator at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (A*STAR), and leads research on sensory and ingestive behaviour at the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre. Ciarán received his PhD in Sensory Science from the Department of Nutrition at University College Cork in Ireland before working in the food industry for over ten years at GSK (UK), CSIRO (Australia) and the Nestlé Research Centre (Switzerland). At SICS, Ciarán holds a joint appointment with the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre and is an Associate Professor (Research) in the Dept. Physiology in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore. Ciarán’s group focuses on the sensory and cognitive influences on energy intake and the subsequent dietary patterns that inform health. The group aims to understand the factors that influence food choice, eating behaviours and sensory factors that influence energy intake within and across meals and the development of food preferences and dietary behaviour in children, adults and elderly. Research Overview The goal of our studies is to better understand how humans learn to select and consume the foods that lead to healthy or unhealthy diets. Our research aims to understand the factors that influence food choice and energy intake in children, adults and elderly. We aim to establish meaningful links between food perception, preference, and intake behaviour and through this understand the regulation of energy intake within and across cultures and at key stages in the life-course. Our aim is to use this knowledge of food choice & intake behaviour to design interventions aimed at improving energy intake regulation and overall health and well-being.

1. Forde, C.G., Almiron-Roig, E. and Brunstrom, J.M. (2015). Expected Satiety: Application to Weight Management and Understanding Energy Selection in Humans. Current Obesity Reports (Accepted for publication, March 2015).
   
   
2. Toepel, U., Bielser; M.F., Forde, C. G., Martin, M., Voirin, A., le Coutre, J., Murray, M., Hudry, J. (2015). Meal size selection for prospective satiety is mediated by brain regions involved in attentional and self-regulation processes. Accepted by NeuroImage for publication.
   
   
3. Robinson, E., Almorin-Roig, E., Rutter, F., Forde, C.G., de Graaf, C. and Jebb, S. (2014). A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of eating rate on energy consumption and hunger. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 100 (1), pp. 123-151.
   
   
4. Bolhuis, D. Forde, C.G., Martin, N. and De Graaf. C. (2014). “Slow Food”; Sustained Impact of Harder Foods on the Reduction of Energy Intake over the Course of the Day. PLoS One, 9(4) e93370.
   
   
5. Forde C. G., van Kuijk, N., Thaler, T., de Graaf, C., Martin, N. (2013a). Oral processing characteristics of solid meal components and relations with food composition, sensory attributes and expected satiation. Appetite, 60, 208-219.

Profile

I am currently a Principal Investigator at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Nanyang Technological University. I completed my Ph.D. in Psychology at Northwestern University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Culture Science Institute of Nanyang Business School.
As a social/cultural psychologist, my research focuses on how cultural and environmental influences interact with neurobiological mechanisms to shape social cognition and behavior. I have examined this interplay on processes such as social sensitivity, cooperation, social cohesion, decision-making, and social preferences/prejudices. I adopt a multidisciplinary approach to these research questions, drawing upon methodologies and tools from diverse areas such as experimental psychology, functional neuroimaging, behavioral genetics, and behavioral economics. At the CNRC, I am applying my research experience in the study of culture and social behavior to examine how cultural and social factors modulate food choice, eating behaviors, nutrition and health. 

Publications

1. Cheon BK, Livingston RW, Hong Y-Y, and Chiao JY. "Gene x environment interactions on intergroup bias: The role of 5-HTTLPR and outgroup threat." Soc Cogn Affect Neur. 01-Sep-14; 9(9):1268-1275. doi: 10.1093/scan/nst111
   
   
2. Pornpattananangkul N, Cheon BK and Chiao JY. "The role of negativity bias in political judgment: A cultural neuroscience perspective." Behav Brain Sci, 27-Jun-14; 37(3):325-326. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X13002707
   
   
3. Cheon BK, Im D, Harada T, Mathur V, Scimeca J, Parrish TB, Park H and Chiao J. Y. (2013). "Cultural modulation of the neural correlates of emotional pain perception: The role of other-focusedness." Neuropsychologia, 01-Jun-13; 51(7):1177-1186. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.03.018.
   
   
4. Cheon BK, Mrazek AJ, Pornpattanangkul N, Blizinsky KD and Chiao JY. "Constraints, catalysts and coevolution in cultural neuroscience: Reply to commentaries." Psychol Inq, 1-Jan-13; 24(1):71-79. doi: 10.1080/1047840X.2013.773599
   
   
5. Chiao JY, Cheon BK, Pornpattanangkul N, Mrazek AJ and Blizinsky KD. "Cultural neuroscience: Progress and promise." Psychol Inq, 1-Jan-13; 24(1):1-19. doi: 10.1080/1047840X.2013.752715