Alumnus Arnoud Carol - MSc Nutrition and Health

Arnoud started his studies in Amsterdam, where he completed the MSc Kinesiology. Since he was also interested in the role of nutrition in physical exercise, he continued with a second MSc Nutrition and Health with the specialisation Nutritional Physiology and Health Status at Wageningen University.

MSc Thesis

During this master, Arnoud conducted research on the effects of the use of bovine colustrum (the first cow milk that is produced after the birth of a calf) on the functioning of the immune system after intense physical exercise. “I designed and executed the entire study myself. I started writing a research proposal for the Medical Ethical Committee (METC). The METC thoroughly reads scientific research proposals and checks if there are any ethical claims to the participants. When my proposal was approved, I contacted laboratories, searched for participants, executed the experiments and wrote a report. My research showed that the use of colustrum had no effect on the functioning of the immune system. However,  the exercise protocol that was used accurately describes how the physical effort of the participants becomes more intense, and can be used to measure stress on the immune system. This protocol can also be used to study the effects of diverse supplements on the immune system.”

Arnoud really enjoyed setting up his own research. “Especially the preparatory work and executing the experiments was very nice. In the preparatory work I had a lot of contact with different people. While performing the experiments it was especially nice to work with the participants. Especially if they are biking like crazy for you. Unfortunately most participants were not very happy about consuming colostrum. They had to dissolve it in milk and that resulted in a rather disgusting liquid.”

Job

Since Arnoud graduated, he had various jobs at the university. After that he has been working as ‘Assistant Scientific Services’ at MCO Health. MCO Health is a company that focuses on the development of nutrition supplements. During this job, Arnoud focussed on scientifically supporting (new) supplements, answering consumer questions and writing articles for diverse academic journals, from which he learned a lot about the functioning of different nutrients on the body.  

Arnoud is glad that he decided to do a MSc at Wageningen University. “The MSc Nutrition and Health has increased my knowledge in this area, which makes it easier to find a job. Also, I have built up a network of contacts at the university."

In the future, Arnoud would love to go back to research. “It would be ideal if I could work on the exercise protocol that we have created during my MSc thesis. Funding of my research plans has been and remains a challenge. That’s why I opted for a job at a clinical research company, where many interesting and fun things are going on in the field of nutrition and sports.”

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