CV Science

Pauline Oustric PhD in Psychbiology

Course and current status

Doctor in Psychobiology of eating Behavior and Engineer in Nutrition from AgroParisTech, I have always been passionate about the link between food and health. My background covers major challenges in nutrition, from the field to the fork, including eating behavior, obesity and the involvement of patients in research. My professional experience as a nutrition consultant (LinkUp) and nutrition scientist (Danone) allowed me to operationalize my knowledge in nutrition for different stakeholders.

I then built my PhD (Leeds University) using a psychobiological approach to better understand the determinants of what we eat (thesis on the role of food rewards in weight maintenance and obesity). Motivated by improving measurement methods, I developed a protocol (Oustric et al., 2019) to culturally adapt the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire (LFPQ) assessing liking and wanting for food. 

This has led me to a position as a chief scientific officer in a medical startup to further develop the LFPQ as well as working on an electrogustometry-based liking measurement tool. I was able to conduct a scoping review on electrogustometry and taste and coordinated the development of clinical trials to validate the taste measurement method in different clinical settings.

I am also co-founder and president of the patient association ApresJ20 Covid Long France which aims to promote recognition, care, research and communication on Covid Long by collaborating with different health actors.

I joined the Center Léon Bérard, to contribute to the scientific coordination of the transdisciplinary cancer prevention network CANCEPT and to the implementation of interventional research projects. In particular, I will coordinate a transdiciplinary exchange group on methodology to network with researchers of CANCEPT and set up working groups on participatory research and interventional research methods in prevention.

Scientific summary

- Investigation of determinant of food intake: food reward-a mechanism that guides our eating behaviour through pleasure (liking) and drive to eat (wanting).
- Thesis on changes in food reward during weight management and Obesity
- developpement of a protocol (Oustric et al., 2019) to culturally adapt the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaires (LFPQ) and help with its implementation 

- Participatory research on Long Covid 

- involvment in research on primary prevention