Nutrition & Exercise: Supporting Cancer Patients Throughout Their Journey

Ione De Brito-Ashurst, PhD, RD

Head of Therapies & Rehabilitation
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust  
London, UK

Ione is the Head of Therapies at The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Ione is a dietitian and most of her recent clinical work has been in critical care. This has led to her active research interest in prevention and management of muscle mass decline. However, her research as part of her master’s and PhD has been around renal nutrition. She carried out her master’s research in patients’ renal nutrition education looking at improving phosphate management. This was followed by a trial in bicarbonate supplementation that was published in an USA journal, won a European prize for significant contribution to the renal field and led to changes in the American and European renal nutrition recommendations. Ione’s PhD followed this – A dietary salt intervention to reduce blood pressure in the Bangladeshi chronic kidney disease patients. Her work aimed to bridge the gap between the acute and community sector in the renal care of this patient group and to reduce health inequalities. 

Ione is currently part of the European Society Parenteral Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) Life Long Learning Faculty teaching group. She also works with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of NHS England as a specialist advisor. Despite the leadership role, Ione is still passionate about nutrition and critical care and works closely co-supervising Masters and PhDs at Brazilian Universities. Ione won the “Florence Nightingale Leadership” scholarship award in 2016, the only allied health professional in the nursing group. Ione joined the London Clinical Senate Council in May 2019.