Dr Jeannine Baumgartner is a Lecturer in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London (KCL) and an Extraordinary Associate Professor in the Centre of Excellence for Nutrition at North-West University (NWU) in South Africa. She holds an MSc in Food Science and Nutrition from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where she also obtained a PhD in Human Nutrition. Her PhD research was a collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Nutrition at NWU, which she later joined as a Postdoctoral Fellow (2012–2015), Senior Lecturer (2015–2017), and Associate Professor (2018) before returning to ETH Zurich as a Senior Scientist (2018–2022).

Her research follows the paradigm that optimal nutrition during early life plays a crucial role in setting the health trajectory of individuals and entire populations. Her primary research goal is to improve micronutrient, particularly iron, and omega-3 fatty acid nutrition in women of reproductive age, pregnant women, and paediatric populations, in an effort to optimise the health and well-being of women and children globally. She has extensive expertise in conducting human nutrition research (intervention and observational plus pre-clinical) in women and children in various settings, including South Africa, Switzerland, and Thailand.

A major focus of her recent and ongoing research is the use of stable iron isotope methodology to measure iron absorption, losses, and gains (balance) from iron interventions, foods, and whole diets in the face of dietary shifts and inflammatory conditions. She is currently leading an NIHR-funded project that will inform the re-assessment of current UK Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) for iron.

Dr Baumgartner serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) and the editorial board of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Women and children's nutrition; micronutrients; omega-3 fatty acids; use of stable iron isotope methodology to measure iron absorption, losses and gains (balance) from iron interventions, foods and whole diets.