Dr Isabella Cooper recently presented her research at two major international conferences: the Keto Live Medical Conference in Switzerland and the Public Health Collaboration (PHC) Conference in London. At both events, she delivered keynote sessions on the role of excess insulin in driving chronic disease, highlighting data from her groundbreaking PhD trial. Here Dr Cooper speaks about her research, her lived experience as a scientist with a disability, her work to reframe chronic diseases and how she aims to bring cutting-edge research into the classroom at Westminster.
You recently presented at two medical conferences. What did you speak about?
At both conferences I presented findings from my PhD at Westminster, where I led a cross-over trial investigating how states of nutritional ketosis versus suppressed ketosis affect cancer-linked growth factors. Ketosis is a metabolic state where the body primarily burns fat for energy instead of glucose. Our results suggest that by targeting insulin, a master regulator of these pathways, we may support cancer care through lifestyle interventions.
I highlighted that many of the growth factors that pharmaceutical drugs try to block can be safely and effectively lowered through dietary and lifestyle strategies. This is particularly important for women, as breast, ovarian and uterine cancers are highly influenced by these hormonal pathways. Our female cohort trial at Westminster showed we can significantly reduce these markers, which may lower cancer risk and improve outcomes. The response was incredibly moving - so many women approached me after the talks seeking support. It is clear we can be doing much more in this area, and I am grateful for the opportunity to help raise awareness.
What inspired your interest in this area of science?
When I became a mother, my curiosity around human health took on a new urgency. I began to ask, what would most meaningfully support the long-term health of my daughters, and conversely, what might undermine it? Growing up in a household influenced by both Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine taught me to be open to multiple frameworks. Far from being in conflict, these two medical philosophies harmonised in our household.
When I began exploring the causes of chronic disease, one thread kept appearing: the role of mitochondria. I became fascinated by how insulin over-signalling damages these energy-producing organelles and how restoring metabolic balance, especially through ketones, a type of acid produced by the liver when the body burns fat for energy instead of glucose, could help prevent or slow ageing and disease.
What role has Westminster played in your academic journey?
Westminster has been the foundation of my work - from undergrad to PhD to looking to become a Visiting Researcher - it has consistently provided a rare and invaluable combination of academic freedom, critical mentorship and operational support. When others were hesitant about ketosis research, Westminster supported my open-labelled three-phase clinical trial and gave us access to world-class facilities. The University has consistently nurtured our team, helped secure ethics approvals and empowered us to explore disruptive but important questions.
Westminster’s enduring support has not only empowered me to lead this research but has helped incubate a wider network of emerging scientists through the organisation I founded, Forever Young Group, which is a collaborative group who draw experience in pathology, biochemistry, physiology, hepatology, immunology, neurology, nutrition and genetics to tackle some of the most pressing health challenges facing the world today. By facilitating research assistantships, fellowships and ethics approvals, the University has allowed us to build a sustainable research ecosystem driven by both academic excellence and philanthropic momentum.
What inspired you to create the Forever Young Group and what was the journey like bringing it to life?
I have always held a deep belief in lifting those around me. During my undergraduate years at the University of Westminster, I was fortunate to meet a group of remarkable budding scientists, each bringing their own strengths, insights and perspectives. We formed a kind of scholarly ecosystem. Every Wednesday, a group of us would gather at my home, beginning early in the morning and work until late.
This organic learning environment eventually formalised into the Forever Young Group. As I moved into the pilot phase of my PhD research, I recognised the need to secure continuity, not just for my own work, but for the emerging scientists who were by now deeply involved. To ensure this, I took the step of directly supporting research assistant and research fellow positions, initially through personal philanthropic contributions and later by cultivating a broader network of public–private partnerships. I also established a model whereby my professional consultations were offered on the condition that 100% of the fees be allocated to fund research, a deliberate inversion of the traditional academic–industry dynamic.
Can you speak to your own experience as a scientist with a disability?
I was born with a profound hearing impairment as a result of my mother contracting German measles during the early stages of pregnancy. I’ve never seen my hearing impairment as a limitation. If anything, it has shaped and sharpened other strengths, my ability to hyper-focus, to read more voraciously, to map and absorb information visually, spatially and abstractly. In the context of scientific work, where pattern recognition, deep concentration and layered understanding are all assets, this neurodivergent wiring has served me well. I hope that other students will see that their overt disabilities, often give rise to other enhanced abilities!
How would you bring your research into the classroom?
I am committed to ensuring that cutting-edge research does not remain confined to the laboratory bench or academic journals but is actively woven into the fabric of student learning. My approach is to bridge real-world research with classroom dialogue to create an environment where students engage not just with abstract theory, but with living, testable science.
The data collected during my doctoral work continues to generate new hypotheses and I intend to involve students directly, through seminar discussions, journal clubs and data interpretation workshops, so they can witness firsthand how hypothesis generation, data analysis and publication evolve in real time.
What advice would you give to aspiring scientists?
Be fearless in asking upstream questions, even when the answers challenge long-held dogma. Much of what we accept today as clinical orthodoxy was once shaped by incomplete models or constrained by the tools of the time. Train yourself not only in the techniques of science, but in its philosophy. Read widely. Learn to see patterns across disciplines. Understand that the body is not a set of siloed systems, but a unified bioenergetic network.
Finally, protect your scientific integrity. You may find that some of the most promising avenues lie outside of mainstream funding priorities. Do the work anyway. Collaborate. Publish. Raise funds if you must. But never compromise on rigour or independence. If you remain metabolically curious, clinically grounded and committed to asking the difficult questions, then you will not only contribute to science, you will also help reshape medicine.
Find out more about the School of Life Sciences at the University of Westminster.
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