02/03/2026
Kia ora, I’m Briar McKenzie, a dietitian and visiting research fellow at NZBRI. My research focuses on how diet influences brain health — both in reducing disease risk and in supporting quality of life for people living with neurological conditions.
Originally from Ōtautahi Christchurch, I recently returned from Sydney, where I am a Senior Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health. My PhD (awarded in 2022) examined s*x and gender considerations in the relationship between diet and cardiometabolic disease, highlighting important implications for food policy. Part of this work explored how diet relates to dementia risk, which led to my postdoctoral fellowship, funded by the National Heart Foundation of Australia, investigating links between diet and vascular brain health.
Alongside my work in diet and brain health, I also contribute to and lead research on food policy and non-communicable disease policy impact evaluation in the Pacific region — two areas that I am currently working to bring together!
During my time at NZBRI, I am examining diet quality within the New Zealand Parkinson’s environment and genes study (NZPEGS), looking at what people are eating, what this means for overall health and wellbeing, and how dietary patterns relate to the specific nutritional needs of people living with Parkinson’s disease. I look forward to sharing findings soon.
Although my time at NZBRI is brief, I’m thoroughly enjoying meeting and learning from the team, and I’m very grateful to all NZPEGS participants and the investigator team for the opportunity to work with these valuable data.
