Five Years of Learning Together: Mildmay Hospital and NOVA Medical School
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This spring, we are very pleased to be marking an education partnership that has brought students, staff and patients closer together and produced research that has been presented internationally.
In April 2022, the first cohort of nutritional sciences students from NOVA Medical School in Lisbon arrived at Mildmay for a two-week clinical placement. They were the first of what has since become an annual fixture. With a new five-year agreement now signed, this feels like the right moment to look back at what the partnership has produced, and forward to what will come next.
A partnership built on shared values
The collaboration began through a professional friendship between Kattya Mayre-Chilton, Mildmay’s Specialist Dietitian, and Professor Filomena Gomes at NOVA Medical School. Both share a conviction that academic learning only goes so far without direct exposure to real clinical practice and that international experience shapes early-career professionals in ways that classroom teaching cannot.
Each year, NOVA students join Mildmay's multidisciplinary teams across our HIV, homelessness and post-detox pathways. They work in a specialist environment where complex clinical needs, person-centred care and evidence-based practice come together in a genuinely unusual way.
“When I was a final-year nutrition and dietetics student, I did an internship abroad that shaped my international professional career. I have now worked in five countries. I want my students to have the same opportunity, and this partnership makes it happen.”
Professor Filomena Gomes
NOVA Medical School
Real projects, real impact
Students do not just shadow our clinicians at Mildmay; they participate directly in patient care and make important contributions. Over five years, NOVA cohorts have worked on a wide range of projects that directly inform and enhance patient care, including:
Clinical audits on malnutrition screening (MUST), HIV and HbA1c, and vitamin D levels, as well as the appropriate use of nutritional supplements and modified-texture diets
service evaluations on frailty, physiotherapy and the Remote Malnutrition Application for Primary Practice (R-MAPP)
food waste audits, low-carbon menu evaluation, food hygiene, and patient food satisfaction surveys
reviews of drug–nutrient interactions with antiretrovirals, helping to ensure patients receive safe and optimised nutrition care.
Many of these projects have gone on to be presented at the British Dietetic Association (BDA) research symposium. In 2025 - the most successful year to date - all four student projects were accepted for oral presentation, with abstracts published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. The work covered caloric reduction and weight change among people living with HIV, nutritional risk in patients undergoing substance misuse detoxification, low-carbon menu food waste, and the nutritional status of homeless adults in a rehabilitation setting.
These findings inform the delivery of care at Mildmay and contribute to the broader evidence base for clinical nutrition in complex rehabilitation settings. (A full list of research outputs from 2023–2025 can be found at the end of this article.)
Learning goes both ways
For Mildmay, having students on placement every year brings fresh energy and perspective. They help us ask different questions, reexamine our processes, and explore approaches to care that we might not have considered on our own. Their commitment to audit, data collection and service evaluation supports our ongoing work to meet and exceed national standards.
For our patients, the student presence matters too. The catering surveys, the clinical audits, the time taken to listen and to observe; these are not abstract exercises, they are part of what makes care at Mildmay responsive and continuously improving.
“Having the students at Mildmay has brought an energy and enthusiasm to learning and sharing that I hadn’t anticipated. Seeing them grow, gaining international experience, hands-on clinical skills, intercultural communication, and watching their confidence develop in such a short time has been a genuine joy.
It has been hard work but rewarding beyond my imagination. This experience has also opened the academic world to me in ways I didn’t expect, through lectureships, supervision, and the chance to play a part in fostering the next generation of dietitians.”
Kattya Mayre-Chilton
Specialist Dietitian
As the 2026 cohort wrote after their placement:
“Mildmay is the kind of place that feels like home, even when you’re 2,000 km away from your real one. From the first day, the team made us feel welcome, and we didn’t just observe the work they do; we had the chance to participate as part of a real multidisciplinary team.
Our input was welcomed, and we felt we could make a difference in improving the service for the people who matter most: the patients.”
2026 NOVA cohort
Next steps for the 2026 cohort
Marta Bastos and Mafalda Martins At CUF Hospital, Inpatient care; Mafalda will do some Epidemiological Research at CEIDESS later during this internship
Mariana Orsi ULS S José - Hospital Curry Cabral , Inpatient Care;
Mariana Silva Hospital S. Francisco Xavier, Inpatient Care and will do a brief period at Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro/ Portuguese "league" (Association) Against Cancer (research).
Where they are now: cohort by cohort
The most telling measure of this partnership is what happens after students graduate. Across five cohorts, former NOVA interns have gone on to clinical posts in hospitals and rehabilitation centres in Portugal, Switzerland and the UK; research roles at NOVA Medical School; further study in public health, biomedicine and medicine; and roles at the European Food Safety Authority, Nestlé, and within food product development.
Many of the students reference their two weeks at Mildmay as the experience that confirmed the direction of their careers.
2022
Maria Bebiana Barbosa now works as a Nutrition Specialist at Cereneo (Centre for Neurology and Rehabilitation) in Switzerland, where she continues to apply many of the skills she first developed at Mildmay.
"My internship at Mildmay in 2022 was an important step in my development as a dietitian. Under the guidance of Dr Kattya, I gained valuable experience in clinical nutrition, supporting patients across the HIV, Homeless, and Post-detoxification pathways. During my placement, I applied theoretical knowledge, developed practical skills, and saw firsthand the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in patient care, while contributing to projects such as menu reviews and recipe technical sheets development.
Today, I work as a Nutrition Specialist at Cereneo (Centre for Neurology and Rehabilitation) in Switzerland, where I continue to apply many of the skills I first developed at Mildmay, and I remain very grateful for the experience and mentorship that helped shape my early career"
Maria Bebiana Barbosa
Carolina P is currently doing a traineeship at the European Food Safety Authority alongside working at the Micronutrient Forum within the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Consortium. Despite not currently practising clinical nutrition, her internship at Mildmay definitely instilled in her the desire to work in an international setting.
2023
Joana Barbas enrolled in a Public Health Master's at the University of Porto. The contact with patients at Mildmay Hospital motivated her to work in the area of HIV and Policy, where she is now doing her master's thesis.
Beatriz was inspired by her experience at Mildmay Hospital to explore nutrition worldwide. First, she undertook a clinical internship in Brazil. Then she enrolled in the Master's in Nutrition and Biomedicine at the Technical University of Munich, where she is currently completing her degree.
Alexandre started a career at NOVA Medical School, where he integrates the Metabolism & Nutrition Research Group. His internship at Mildmay motivated him to investigate more about the effects of HIV in Gut Microbiome in MSM, a topic where he wants to deepen his investigation.
Katarina has pursued her long-held ambition to study medicine at Nova Medical School, where she is currently in her fourth year. Following her experience at Mildmay, she has been motivated to engage in various internships both in Portugal and abroad. Her primary goal is to combine nutrition and medicine in her future career.
"Since completing her internship at Mildmay, Katarina has pursued her long-held ambition to study medicine at Nova Medical School, where she is currently in her fourth year. Following her experience at Mildmay, she has been motivated to engage in various internships both in Portugal and abroad. Her primary goal is to combine nutrition and medicine in her future career."
Matilde has started a career at MC Sonae, where she integrates the Product Development Team. Her internship at Mildmay strengthened her commitment to developing innovative food products that address the specific nutritional needs of the entire population, from early childhood to the elderly, while ensuring they remain accessible and readily available on supermarket shelves.
Inês Timóteo has built a professional career at Nestlé within the Nutrition department. As a Medical Advisor, she has provided specialised scientific support to several brands across the paediatric portfolio, ensuring clinical accuracy through rigorous scientific review. Her role is multifaceted, encompassing the development of medical communication and marketing materials for Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), alongside her current experience within the Medical Information team.
"In parallel with her professional path, Inês is pursuing a Master's in Paediatric Nutrition at the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto (FCNAUP) and serves as a Junior Researcher at the CHRC for the RUN-UP project. Her research examines the relationship between lifestyle behaviours and sleep patterns in school-aged children. Her time at Mildmay was instrumental in developing a holistic perspective on patient care, which has been a cornerstone of her approach to both medical affairs and clinical research."
2024
Beatriz B has started her career at NOVA Medical School as a Dietitian, managing projects in the field of Nutrition Sciences and contributing to academic activities, including teaching assistance. She is also beginning her clinical practice in the area of eating behaviour and eating disorders.
"Her internship at Mildmay contributed to her understanding that a dietitian, regardless of their area of practice, must be able to work closely within a multidisciplinary team. It also highlighted that a dietitian's role goes far beyond core nutritional knowledge: it requires the ability to apply this knowledge across different contexts, whether by integrating clinical practice with research or by developing projects and activities that promote health and wellbeing.
Additionally, the cognitive and behavioural support activities used with some of Mildmay's patients (through activities such as cooking sessions and art classes, in which the students had the opportunity to collaborate) sparked a strong interest that she intends to explore further. Because eating is a behaviour, any nutritional intervention benefits from an integrated approach, particularly in those with pre-existing psychological comorbidities."
Matilde B realised that clinical practice was her true professional path following her experience at Mildmay Hospital. She began working at the Unidade de Saúde de São Miguel, in her home island in Portugal, where she provided nutrition consultations within primary care and took part in programmes such as smoking cessation, alcohol cessation and social-care support. She also developed home-visit consultations for users of the Centre, applying the knowledge and confidence gained during her clinical internship.
"Matilde is currently working at Medical Concept Clinic, where she has the opportunity to practise nutrition in a broad, multidisciplinary context, alongside professionals who inspire her daily. Her internship at Mildmay confirmed to her that she belongs in the clinical world and that what fulfils her most is helping people."
2025
The 2025 cohort completed their placement last year and will be moving on to clinical roles across Portugal and further study.
Looking ahead
We are delighted that Mildmay and NOVA Medical School have recently signed a new agreement to continue these internships for a further five years.
This renewed commitment reflects a shared vision: to connect academic learning with real-world clinical practice, and to give students the opportunity to experience healthcare in an international setting where the highest standards of clinical practice and professional conduct are embedded in daily care.
For NOVA students, the placements offer exposure to multidisciplinary clinical care, research and quality improvement work that is genuinely hard to find elsewhere.
For Mildmay, the partnership strengthens our connection to academic dietetics, deepens our capacity for audit and service improvement, and supports our mission to provide specialist, holistic rehabilitation for people living with complex HIV-related conditions, homelessness and substance dependence.
We hope this collaboration will continue to allow many more NOVA students to benefit from this unique educational experience. Through it, both institutions contribute to training the next generation of nutrition and dietetic professionals who are prepared to work in diverse, inclusive and global healthcare environments.
Thank you
We are grateful to the five cohorts of NOVA students who have joined us since 2022, for their curiosity, their commitment and the work they have left behind. Our thanks also go to Professor Filomena Gomes and colleagues at NOVA Medical School for their continued trust in this collaboration, and to Kattya Mayre-Chilton and the Mildmay multidisciplinary team, who have welcomed, supervised and mentored each cohort year after year.
Together, we are helping to prepare the next generation of nutrition and dietetic professionals to work with rigour and humanity in health systems across the world. We look forward to the next five years.
Submissions to the BDA research symposium:2023: |
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2024: |
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2025 was the most successful year, where all of the submitted projects were accepted for oral presentation and abstracts published in the JHND: |
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Mildmay Hospital is a specialist rehabilitation hospital and charity in east London, providing complex care for people living with HIV and other neurological conditions. Our Specialist Dietitian, Kattya Mayre-Chilton, leads the NOVA partnership. Learn more about our clinical teams and our international programme.
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