Prof. Anna Melin is a senior researcher whose career bridges elite-level dietetics and academic leadership. She began her professional journey as a certified sports dietitian, serving in Danish elite sport and later supporting the Swedish Olympic Committee for over 15 years, before pursuing doctoral and research roles. Her applied experience shapes and drives her commitment to evidence that serves athletes, coaches, physiologists, and health professionals.

She teaches courses in sports nutrition and mentors students through applied and theoretical training in nutrition science. Her research focuses on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), eating disorders, physiology of low energy availability, and the systemic risks of long-term energy insufficiency, such as bone loss, endocrine dysfunction, and injury susceptibility. Her studies have shown alarming prevalence in female endurance athletes—for example, about 60% exhibiting menstrual dysfunction and about 45% with low bone mineral density.

Prof. Melin leads interdisciplinary research groups including “Sustainable Sport and Performance,” and spearheads projects such as FUEL (Food and Nutrition for Endurance Athletes), Girls are Not Small Boys, and LEAF-Long, investigating long-term health consequences of energy deficiency, fertility, and bone outcomes. Through her research, education, and clinical insight, she plays a key role in translating nutrition science into effective athlete health practice.