Dianne is Emeritus Professor at Northumbria University, where she previously served as Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health and Life Sciences.

Until 2016, Dianne was at Newcastle University, where her leadership roles were in postgraduate education, including Director of PhD Studies and Associate Dean for Taught Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

Her research career developed from an early interest in nutrient transport mechanisms, zinc biology, and the metabolism of dietary components implicated in promoting better health. Most recently, her group’s research focused on the metabolism of bioactive food components and their impact on cellular and molecular processes relevant to ageing and disease prevention. Much of her work was funded by the BBSRC and other national and international sources, and she led a productive research group of postdoctoral researchers and PhD students from 1998 onward.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and a Fellow of the Physiological Society, and has a long record of service to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). She is currently Deputy Chair of BBSRC Research Committee A, a Lay Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), a Co-opted Governor for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and serves on the Editorial Board of FEBS Letters.

Dianne is a graduate in Biochemistry (BSc 1988, PhD 1991, University of Bristol) and continues to contribute to research and leadership within the biosciences community in an emeritus capacity.