Personal statement

Lori has been a lecturer at Bath Spa University since July 2017. She lectures and conducts research on a wide variety of topics relevant to food science, nutrition, medicine, ethnobotany and natural products. She has also worked in the skincare and tea industry and continues to undertake natural product consultancy.

Prior to her current academic position, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Medicine and Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City where she investigated natural compounds and their effects on hematologic malignancies. She was a recipient of the F32 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health for this work. She was also awarded a R25 fellowship in the program for Nutrition and Cancer Prevention (National Cancer Institute) for this research.

Before joining Weill Cornell Medical College, she was a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth where she worked among other researchers that collaborated with the cranberry industry.

She has also conducted medicinal fruit research in the Dominican Republic and Florida while working towards her doctorate degree in nutritional sciences.

Academic qualifications

  • BSc in Biochemistry – University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • PhD in Nutritional Sciences – Cornell University

Professional memberships

  • Phytochemical Society of Europe
  • American Society of Pharmacognosy

Teaching specialisms

Module Leader 

  • Global Food Issues
  • Future Food and Nutrition in the Twenty-first Century
  • Plants and People

Contributing tutor

Lori mentors dissertation students in Human Nutrition, Food with Nutrition, Biology. 

Current research

Lori is interested in research relevant to functional foods, complementary and integrative medicine, as well as natural and sustainable product development.

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce

The impact of Covid-19 on lifestyle and dietary habits during and after lockdown in people with neurological conditions, and their perceptions of how these changes have impacted their physical and mental health: a cross-sectional survey study
article

Graham, A.-M.C, Bystrom, L.M, Rogers, O, Berwick, Z, Akrane, O, Field, A, Zdrava, D and Coe, S (2024) 'The impact of Covid-19 on lifestyle and dietary habits during and after lockdown in people with neurological conditions, and their perceptions of how these changes have impacted their physical and mental health: a cross-sectional survey study.' Clinical Nutrition Open Science, 57. pp. 109-125. ISSN 2667-2685

Cranberry A-type proanthocyanidins selectively target acute myeloid leukemia cells
article

Bystrom, L.M, Bezerra, D.P, Hsu, H-T, Zong, H, Lara-Martínez, L.A, De Leon, J.P, Emmanuel, M, Méry, D, Gardenghi, S, Hassane, D, Neto, C.C, Cunningham-Rundles, S, Becker, M.W, Rivella, S and Guzman, M.L (2019) 'Cranberry A-type proanthocyanidins selectively target acute myeloid leukemia cells.' Blood Advances, 3 (21). pp. 3261-3265. ISSN 2473-9529

Dehydroleucodine, a sesquiterpene lactone from Gynoxys verrucosa, demonstrates cytotoxic activity against human leukemia cells
article

Ordóñez, P.E, Sharma, K.K, Bystrom, L.M, Alas, M.A, Enriquez, R.G, Malagón, O, Jones, D.E, Guzman, M.L and Compadre, C.M (2016) 'Dehydroleucodine, a sesquiterpene lactone from Gynoxys verrucosa, demonstrates cytotoxic activity against human leukemia cells.' Journal of Natural Products, 79 (4). pp. 691-696. ISSN 0163-3864

Cancer cells with irons in the fire
article

Bystrom, L.M and Rivella, S (2015) 'Cancer cells with irons in the fire.' Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 79. pp. 337-342. ISSN 0891-5849

Iron and reactive oxygen species: friends or foes of cancer cells?
article

Bystrom, L.M, Guzman, M.L and Rivella, S (2014) 'Iron and reactive oxygen species: friends or foes of cancer cells?' Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, 20 (12). pp. 1917-1924. ISSN 1523-0864

Distinct roles for hepcidin and interleukin-6 in the recovery from anemia in mice injected with heat-killed Brucella abortus
article

Gardenghi, S, Renaud, T.M, Meloni, A, Casu, C, Crielaard, B.J., Bystrom, L.M, Greenberg-Kushnir, N, Sasu, B.J, Cooke, K.S and Rivella, S (2014) 'Distinct roles for hepcidin and interleukin-6 in the recovery from anemia in mice injected with heat-killed Brucella abortus.' Blood, 123 (8). pp. 1137-1145. ISSN 0006-4971

The potential health effects of Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. fruits: phytochemical, chemotaxonomic and ethnobotanical investigations
article

Bystrom, L.M (2012) 'The potential health effects of Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. fruits: phytochemical, chemotaxonomic and ethnobotanical investigations.' Fitoterapia, 83 (2). pp. 266-271. ISSN 0367326X

Phenolics, sugars, antimicrobial and free-radical-scavenging Activities of Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. fruits from the Dominican Republic and Florida
article

Bystrom, L.M, Lewis, B.A, Brown, D.L, Rodriguez, E and Obendorf, R.L (2009) 'Phenolics, sugars, antimicrobial and free-radical-scavenging Activities of Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. fruits from the Dominican Republic and Florida.' Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 64 (2). pp. 160-166. ISSN 0921-9668

Characterisation of phenolics by LC–UV/Vis, LC–MS/MS and sugars by GC in Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. ‘Montgomery’ fruits
article

Bystrom, L.M, Lewis, B.A, Brown, D.L, Rodriguez, E and Obendorf, R.L (2008) 'Characterisation of phenolics by LC–UV/Vis, LC–MS/MS and sugars by GC in Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. ‘Montgomery’ fruits.' Food Chemistry, 111 (4). pp. 1017-1024. ISSN 0308-8146