Jo Smith, RD

Jo Smith has been a registered Dietitian with the NHS for over 26 years. She has a specialist interest in food insecurity, obesity, health inequalities and is particularly interested in the eating behaviour of people with mental health conditions. Jo is also the research officer for the Mental Health Specialist Group of the British Dietetic Association. Her passion is promoting dietetic research in mental health and learning disabilities.

In 2008, Jo gained a master’s degree in Evidence Based Practice from Teesside University. Her thesis was entitled “The Body Mass Index and Dietary Intakes of Adults with Learning Disabilities Detained on Secure Units”.

Since 2009, Jo has been an active member of the Mental Health Specialist Group of the British Dietetic Association, including acting as Chair of the group. She has been involved in numerous national projects. In 2018, Jo was one of the lead authors of “A Weight off Your Mind” (AWoYM) which is a regional plan to support individuals accessing secondary mental health and LD services to manage their weight successfully. In 2019, she was honoured to be awarded the Public Health Champion Award at the NHS England Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards July 2019 for her work in the field of obesity and mental health.

In 2020, Jo commenced a two-year secondment to the role of Consultant Allied Health Professional (Clinical Academic). The post involved working across Teesside University; Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust; and the NIHR Clinical Research Network for the North East and North Cumbria. Due to the success of this secondment, Jo was offered a permanent role as a Clinical Academic Dietitian in early 2022, working jointly across her NHS Trust and Teesside University.

Jo is the NIHR AHP Research Champion for the North East and North Cumbria and the Training Lead for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Integrating Mental Health, Physical Health and Social Care Theme in the North East and North Cumbria.

Jo commenced her PhD in Nutrition at Teesside University in December 2021, studying part time for up to six years.