Our team

Cochrane Nutrition is hosted in South Africa within the Centre for Evidence-based Health Care at Stellenbosch University and Cochrane South Africa at the South African Medical Research Council.

Initiators of Cochrane Nutrition include Prof Jimmy Volmink, Prof Taryn Young, Dr Tamara Kredo, Prof Paul Garner, Prof Mark Lawrence, Dr Juan Pablo Peña-Rosas, Prof Celeste Naude and Ms Solange Durão.

Celeste Naude, PhD, from the Centre for Evidence-based Health Care at Stellenbosch University, and Solange Durão, MPH, from Cochrane South Africa, are the Co-Directors of Cochrane Nutrition. The co-ordinating team also includes Amanda Brand, Anel Schoonees and Marianne Visser.  

The Directors work under the guidance of an Advisory Board. Members of the Advisory Board comprise representatives from partner organisations, as well as from various Cochrane groups. Current Advisory Board members include:

  • Chizuru Nishida, Coordinator Nutrition Policy and Scientific Advice, Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. (Chair)
  • Mark Lawrence, Head of the Food Policy Unit, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Harshpal Sachdev, Senior Consultant in Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology. Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi, India.
  • Patricia Cassano, Director of Division of Nutritional Sciences and Professor of Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA.
  • Luke Wolfenden, Associate Professor, NHMRC Fellow (CDF II), Brawn Career Development Fellow, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Manager, NSW Regional Health Partners, Program Manager, Hunter New England Clinical Research Fellow, HNE Population Health.
  • Jimmy Volmink, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Natalia Elorriaga, Researcher, Center of Excellence in Cardiovascular Health for South America (CESCAS) of the Institute of Clinical Healthcare Effectiveness (IECS)
  • Betsy Kristjansson, Co-chair and Editor, Nutrition group, Campbell Collaboration;  Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada
  • Vivian Welch, Editor in Chief, Campbell Collaboration; Director of Methods, Bruyère Research Institute, and Assistant Professor, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Canada
  • Lee Hooper, Content Editor, Cochrane Heart; Reader in Research Synthesis, Nutrition & Hydration, Norwich Medical School, United Kingdom

Previous Advisory Board members include:

  • Taryn Young, Director of the Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town South Africa. (2016 - Dec 2018) 
  • Tamara Kredo, Senior Specialist Scientist at Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa. (2016 - Dec 2018)