Dr David Topping

Dr David Topping: bowel health advocate

Dr David Topping is a keen advocate of dietary strategies for management of bowel health.

• 7 November 2007 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr David Topping is a Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences in Adelaide, South Australia.

Dr Topping’s current research interest is the health potential for gut health of processed foods, particularly:

• dietary carbohydrates (fibre, resistant starch and oligosaccharides)
• probiotics
• dietary fats.

Objectives of this research are to:

• improve public health in Australia with respect to the major diet-related diseases by the identification and substantiation of foods with defined health benefits
• assist the Australian food industry to identify and establish the functionality of foods and dietary components with potential health benefits in the fields of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and gut health
• provide assistance where appropriate to food regulatory authorities and to contribute to the development of a regulatory framework in relation to the question of health claims associated with new functional foods.

Background

Dr Topping joined CSIRO in 1977.

After completing his Doctorate Dr Topping embarked on a research career in institutions in the UK, Canada and Australia.

An early research interest was the role of carbon monoxide from inhaled cigarette smoke in the development of certain diseases in smokers.

Since the mid-80s Dr Topping’s research has been nutrition-related, specifically in the areas of:

• bowel health

  Meet Dr David Topping, CSIRO’s man with the answers about bowel health.
• omega three oils
• fibre
• probiotics
• resistant starches.

Academic qualifications

Dr Topping has been awarded a:

• Bachelor of Science with Honours from Liverpool University, United Kingdom (UK) in 1967
• Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry at the University of London, UK, in 1973.

Achievements

Dr Topping currently teaches at Flinders University in Adelaide in South Australia in the capacity as Clinical Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry.

He enjoys a high profile with the Australian food and food-related pharmaceutical industries and the general public.

He is also well recognised by his peers in the scientific community, appearing frequently as invited speaker at international meetings.

He is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and is a past President of the Nutrition Society of Australia.

Dr Topping has research collaborations with:

• Flinders University of South Australia
• Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
• Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO)
• Obihiro University, Japan
• Shizuokao University, Japan.

He is named as inventor on eight patents relating to gut health products and author of 150 research and review publications since 1972, with more than 123 publications since 1994.

He has been awarded the:

• RACI, Cereal Chemistry Division Poster Award in 1994
• AIFST, Jack Kefford Award in 1999
• ATSE, Fellowship (FTSE) in 2002
• CSIRO, One CSIRO Award Food Futures Flagship in 2003
• CSIRO Plant Industry Innovation Award Barleyplus in 2004.

Find out more about our work in Health & Wellbeing.