Yvanna completed a BSc in Nutrition Science at King’s College London in 2020. She then started an environmental physiology PhD at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, exploring the effects of natural environments on psychological and physiological health.
Yvanna has now joined the PHIRST-Light team at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ as a research associate evaluating public health initiatives around the UK. Her first project will be evaluating the Newcastle School Streets programme using mixed methodology.
Yvanna’s first research internship experimentally investigated early nutrition in mouse models at the University of California, Davis. Throughout her undergraduate degree, she undertook various human nutrition intervention trial internships (University of Sydney and King’s College London) as well as a clinical internship (Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine).
During her PhD, Yvanna explored the relationship between nature and human health using an evolutionary perspective. She conducted three experimental trials investigating the effect of physically active and inactive nature immersions. She quantitatively measured a broad range of psychological (mood and perceived stress) and physiological (eating behaviour, cognitive, immune, and physical function) outcomes. She has shared her work at academic conferences as well as an interview with BBC Radio Leicester.
Yvanna is now moving into the sphere of public health evaluations. As a research associate, Yvanna is part of the NIHR-funded scheme to work with local authorities to evaluate the effectiveness of public health initiatives.
Featured publications
- Todorova, Y., Wellings, I., Thompson, H., Barutcu, A., James, L., Bishop, N., ... & Longman, D. P. (2023). Additional Health Benefits Observed following a Nature Walk Compared to a Green Urban Walk in Healthy Females. Urban Science, 7(3), 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci7030085
- Todorova, Y. (2022). Encapsulating seven million years of human history. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21943
- Ribeiro, R. V., Simpson, S. J., Le Couteur, D. G., Raubenheimer, D., Eberhard, J., Ruiz, K., ... & Gosby, A. K. (2019). The nutrition for healthy living study: A randomised clinical trial assessing the effect of protein sources on healthy ageing. Nutrition and Healthy Aging, 5(1), 43-51. doi: https://doi.org/10.3233/NHA-180055