Katrina Purcell is a Dietitian, currently completing her PhD in the Department of Medicine, at the University of Melbourne. Katrina’s PhD is funded by the Australian government and titled ‘Does the rate of weight loss influence the success of long term weight maintenance?’ The overall aim of this project is to compare the long-term weight outcomes and physiological adaptations to weight loss achieved by two different rates of weight loss. She is also involved in several other government funded research projects including: investigating why weight regain is almost inevitable in people that have lost weight, and hormonal adaptations to weight loss that may lead to weight regain.