NICKLAUS Sophie
National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), France
- Sophie Nicklaus is Director of Research exceptional class at INRAE. Since April 2024, she is the deputy Scientific Direction of the “Food and Bioeconomy directorate” at INRAE headquarter in Paris. From 2017 to 2023, she led the team ‘Determinants of eating behaviour across the life course, relationships with health’ at the Centre for Taste and Feeding behavior (Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l’Alimentation) in Dijon, France.
- During her training as an agricultural engineer (AgroParisTech), she was interested in the sensory and nutritional qualities of foods and their determinants. Since her thesis at the University of Bourgogne, she has been studying children’s eating behaviour (food preferences; appetite control), to assess the effect of food properties (sensory properties, energy density) in the development and evolution of food preferences and consumption in children, using experimental and epidemiological approaches (in particular within the framework of two birth cohorts, OPALINE and ELFE).
- She is particularly interested in the impact of early food experiences on later eating behaviour and their contribution to health. She has published over 130 original articles and 22 reviews in international peer-reviewed journals; 22 book chapters; 1 edited book and a book for the general public on these topics.
- She is currently collaborating with public health authorities in France to develop and evaluate updated recommendations on infant feeding.
Recent publications:
- Somaraki, M. et al. Timing of food pieces introduction and neurodevelopment: findings from a nationwide birth cohort. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 21, 118 (2024).
- Cerf, M. et al. Evidence on consumers’ perceptions, understanding and uses of the Nutri-Score to improve communication about its update: a qualitative study with shopping observations in France. BMC Public Health 24, 3037 (2024).
- Riera-Navarro C, Nicklaus S. Restrictive, but not instrumental feeding, is associated with Eating in the Absence of Hunger in toddlers: A cross-sectional lab-based study. Appetite. 2025 Jan 1;204:107746.
- Ares G, et al. The Intertwinement of the Physical and Digital Worlds in the Development of Food Literacy Competencies. Nutr Rev. 2025 Jul 1;83(7):e2144-e2145.
- Arrazat L, Cambriels C, Noan CL, Nicklaus S, Marty L. Effects of increasing the availability of vegetarian options on main meal choices, meal offer satisfaction and liking: a pre-post analysis in a French university cafeteria. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2024 Jul 16;21(1):75.