Nature Forum 
Reducing Salt in our Diets

Dr. Kenji Shibuya is a highly respected expert in global and population health. He has held important roles as Professor and Director at the University Institute for Population Health at King's College London and Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health at the University of Tokyo. Dr. Shibuya has played a central role in shaping Japanese health policies, actively engaging in G7 summits and leading discussions on healthcare reform, including the Advisory Panel on Health Care 2035, physician work style reform, and future innovation working group.

He served as a Special Advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). Currently, he holds the position of Chief Executive Officer at Medical Excellence JAPAN, serves as the position of Research Director at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, and is the Managing Director at the Soma COVID Vaccination Medical Center in Soma City, Fukushima, among other significant roles.

Amanda has entered the world of Salt Research recently following a teaching career in Science and Food and Nutrition, having  graduated from Homerton College, Cambridge. More recently she studied for a Masters in Food Policy at City, University of London and wrote her dissertation on the potential for Recipe Boxes to be the nexus for pleasure in food, good nutrition and development of Food Literacy skills. Her current research is part of a mixed methods study of the UK salt reformulation programme at Queen Mary, and alongside that she has an interest in the increasing substitution of sodium chloride salt with potassium chloride and research planned  with The George Institute, Sydney.

Daisuke Hayashi trained at the renowned Kikunoi ryotei restaurant in Kyoto from the age of eighteen as a protégé of the owner chef Yoshihiro Murata, and is now at the forefront of the next generation of Japanese chefs applying a modern, progressive approach to a gastronomic culture. 

In 2008, Daisuke was responsible for the Japanese VIP menus served during the G8 Summit. After moving to the UK, he has been actively involved in workshops as vice chairman of Japanese culinary academy UK. He also supervises JAL's in-flight meals for Business and First Class on four routes from Europe. He was awarded the prestigious Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassador in 2020 and the Minister’s Award for Overseas Promotion of Japanese Food in 2022 from The Government of Japan.

As Chief Scientific Officer, Kate is accountable for the FDF’s food safety, food labelling, and diet and health policy briefs. Previously Kate led the FDF’s diet and health policy work, and before that worked for the Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency on a range of nutrition and legislation policies.  Kate is a member of IFST and a registered nutritionist. 

Subhra Priyadarshini is a science journalist of over 25 years and the launch editor of Nature India. She launched Nature India in 2008 after a decade-long stint with mainstream Indian media. After a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the Odisha University of Agriculture Technology, she majored in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. She is also a post graduate from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication and studied print journalism at the University of Westminster, London. Subhra has worked as a journalist with major Indian dailies The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Asian Age, The Telegraph, India’s premier news agency Press Trust of India and Down To Earth magazine. She worked briefly for the Observer, London.

Subhra has been a British Chevening scholar, a Robert Bosch fellow, an IREX-UNESCO fellow and a Kavli Prize Media Scholarship awardee. Subhra received the BBC World Service Trust award for her coverage of the ‘Vanishing Islands of Sunderbans’ in the Bay of Bengal and the PANOS South Asia Media Excellence Award for her incisive coverage of climate change issues. She won acclaim in India for her coverage of the Orissa super cyclone in 1999 and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

Subhra has been on the programme and selection committees of the World Conference of Science Journalists and is a member of many national and international committees on science communication, science policy, environment and healthcare. Through Nature India’s many workshops and outreach activities, Subhra trains scientists, healthcare professionals and journalists in science and health communication.

Dr. Yoko Ogiwara, a seasoned corporate executive, presently serves as the General Manager of the Global Communications Department at Ajinomoto Co., Inc. With a robust educational background, she holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Dental Science at Kyushu University and an MBA from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Dr. Ogiwara's extensive professional journey with Ajinomoto includes roles such as Corporate Fellow, Director of Quality Assurance & Scientific Regulatory Affairs in Southeast Asia, and General Manager of Regulatory Science Group Quality Assurance Department in Tokyo.

Throughout her career, Dr. Ogiwara has displayed leadership prowess, contributing significantly to Ajinomoto's global presence. Her involvement in various capacities, from Tokyo to Bangkok and Paris, underscores her commitment to quality assurance and scientific regulatory affairs. Notably, she has been recognized for her expertise in taste and smell research, holding memberships in esteemed organizations like the Japanese Association for the Study of Taste and Smell. Currently, she continues to shape the industry's future as a Board of Director member for the International Life Science Institute Southeast Asia Region Branch.

Sonia Pombo is a Registered Nutritionist and Campaign Lead for Action on Salt. Sonia oversees the work of the salt reduction campaigns, monitoring salt levels in UK food through quantitative research so as to ensure reformulation efforts are taking place across the food industry. 

Claudia is an emerging public health professional with 5 years of experience in communications, advocacy and policy. She is the Policy and Advocacy Advisor at The George Institute for Global Health, working on a programme of policy, stakeholder engagement and thought leadership to increase the impact of TGI’s research. She works with the World Health Organization, UN and other global health organisations and networks, conducting advocacy activities focused on the UK, where TGI works in collaboration with Imperial College London.

Previously, she has worked at the World Obesity Federation managing communication and dissemination activities for 2 EU consortium childhood obesity projects (CO-CREATE & STOP). Ms Batz elicits perspectives of young people into the strategic design and delivery of programs and policies, fostering partnerships and convening relevant stakeholders to ensure that public policy is more inclusive and equitable. She recently co-hosted the ‘Youth Voices for Healthy Choices’ podcast.

In 2022, Claudia was selected as a Salzburg Seminar Fellow and a working group member of the EIT Health Alumni Network where she works with multidisciplinary communities of entrepreneurs and innovators to advocate for equitable access to healthcare via digitalisation and to build inclusive communities. She is also a native of Turkey.

• Joined the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2002.
• Served as the Director of the Washoku Division in the Food Industry Affairs Bureau from 2020, transitioning to Director of the Food Culture Division in 2021 due to organizational changes, focusing on the domestic protection and international promotion of Washoku, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• Became Counsellor at the Embassy of Japan in the UK in 2022, specializing in agriculture and food.