Dr. Mei Peng is a senior lecturer at the University of Otago. With a background in experimental psychology, Mei’s research focuses on people’s food choices and intake behaviour in the modern food environment.

She is particularly intrigued by the complex interplay between brain and food. Her laboratory uses psychological, behavioural, and neuroscience methods to understand how sensory, cognitive, and behavioural factors can shape one’s diet and their impacts on people’s general wellbeing.

Currently, Mei is leading an Otepoti-based longitudinal study, funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand, to understand how people’s eating behaviour changes during major metabolic reprogramming, such as pregnancy.