Dr Karen Coulman, PhD RD is an applied health researcher and specialist dietitian at the University of Bristol who has worked in the field of obesity for over 15 years.
Her current research focuses on improving access to obesity interventions and healthcare for people living with obesity including underrepresented groups such as people with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties.
She is currently co-leading an NIHR evaluation of national access to weight management medication in the NHS. She previously held a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Lectureship (2019-2023) focusing on how to improve access to specialist weight management services. Her PhD research (NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship) focused on the patient’s perspective of bariatric surgery, including developing a core outcome set, and investigating ways to improve follow-up care.
She is passionate about cross-disciplinary collaboration and is co-Director of the ‘Healthy Weight’ Health Integration Team through Bristol Health Partners, which aims to improve how research, policy and practice interconnect related to the prevention and treatment of obesity.