Jennie Brand-Miller

Janette Cecile Brand-Miller (born 1952), also known as Jennie Brand-Miller, Janette Cecile Brand and GI Jennie, is an Australian academic who holds a chair in human nutrition in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. She is best known for her research and publications on the glycemic index, a term originated by David J. Jenkins of the University of Toronto, and its role in human health.

Early life and education Brand-Miller was born in 1952. She studied food science and technology before completing a doctorate (PhD) in nutrition at the University of New South Wales. Her early published research included a 1977 trial, reported in the Medical Journal of Australia, of lactose-hydrolysed milk in Aboriginal Australian children, examining lactose intolerance.

Research Brand-Miller's research focused on carbohydrates and the glycaemic index (GI) of foods, a ranking of carbohydrate-containing foods according to their effect on blood-glucose levels. Her research contributed to the development and application of standardised methods for measuring the glycaemic index of foods, as well as glycaemic index databases and an international glycaemic index testing service used in nutrition research and food regulation. Her work also examined the role of the glycaemic index in pregnancy, the composition of traditional Aboriginal foods, and human variation in the salivary amylase gene AMY1. She also co-founded a food-labelling program that displays a certified low-GI symbol on qualifying products.

Books Brand-Miller is a co-author, with dietitian Kaye Foster-Powell and others, of the New Glucose Revolution series of consumer books on low-GI eating, which helped popularise the concept of the glycemic index. The books draw on research carried out in her University of Sydney laboratory and cover topics including diabetes management, weight loss, and cooking. 2011: Appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), for her research into human nutrition and as a supporter of people with a hearing impairment. 2018: Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA).