Special professorship of Arthur van Zanten extended

Why do some patients recover fully, while others do not? That is the question driving Van Zanten’s research. “Intensive care patients experience severe inflammatory responses in their bodies and can lose up to a kilo of muscle mass per day. This often leads to long-term problems such as muscle weakness, anxiety, and difficulties with thinking and memory.”

Together with his team, Van Zanten studies what happens at the cellular level and how nutrition can support recovery. “We want to understand what happens during the acute phase – the critical period immediately after admission to intensive care – so that we can provide the right nutritional support straight away. For example, one of our studies shows that giving too much protein during this acute phase can actually have adverse effects. That kind of knowledge can be applied directly in practice.”

In the coming years, Van Zanten wants to shift more attention to the period after patients leave intensive care. “We plan to follow patients for up to a year after discharge. At present, we see them only once again in our aftercare clinic, but their nutritional care is largely overlooked after that. This is a missed opportunity, because we expect that a great deal can still be gained. The research possibilities are almost endless: the impact of sleep, the timing of meals, taste, sustainability. I would also like to work more closely with patients and their families.”

The findings of Van Zanten’s research are immediately implemented in clinical practice at Gelderse Vallei Hospital. For example, the approach to reducing tube feeding has been adapted: previously, patients had to switch directly to eating independently once tube feeding stopped, often resulting in a drop in energy and protein intake. Now, patients must first demonstrate that they are eating well enough on their own before tube feeding is discontinued. This keeps their nutrition at the right level and speeds up recovery. “Our research should translate into outcomes that really benefit patients. They need to experience the improvements themselves,” says Van Zanten.

Over the past five years, Van Zanten has published over a hundred scientific papers in leading journals such as The Lancet. His international recognition comes as no surprise: since 2020 he has delivered over 360 lectures worldwide and has been appointed chair of the FREM section (Feeding, Rehabilitation, Endocrinology and Metabolism) of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. In addition to research, Van Zanten supervises many (medical) students. He has given lectures, supervised dozens of theses and research internships, and continues to mentor PhD candidates. One of his students even won the 2025 NESPEN award.

Van Zanten once considered a career in music rather than medicine. Fortunately for patients and science, medicine won. Yet his passion for music remains: he plays weekly in a big band, and his WUR gown is decorated with a striking image of his instrument: the bass trombone. “That’s hard work too, but it gives me enormous relaxation,” he says with a smile.