Sander M.W. Janssen Wins NESPEN Master Thesis Award 2025

Sander M.W. Janssen, PhD candidate at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Radboudumc, has been awarded the NESPEN Master Thesis Award 2025 by the Netherlands Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. The award recognizes the best master’s thesis in the field of clinical nutrition and metabolic research.

Sander received the award for his MSc thesis, which explored the application of machine learning (ML) in malnutrition detection. Malnutrition is a widespread yet frequently underdiagnosed issue affecting both children and adults. Early detection is crucial to prevent long-term health complications, but existing screening and diagnostic tools largely rely on predefined questionnaires and expert consensus. Sander’s research aimed to bridge this gap by evaluating the use of ML models to automate and improve malnutrition detection.

His study combined a systematic literature review, analyzing current patient groups, screening tools, ML algorithms, and implementation challenges, with a machine learning experiment that benchmarked 22 different ML models on a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) dataset. The results highlighted a critical issue: over 90% of ML models for malnutrition detection remain unused in clinical practice. However, the two best-performing models from Sander’s study significantly outperformed traditional screening tools in NICU patients, demonstrating the potential of automated decision-support systems to enhance clinical efficiency and patient outcomes.

The award highlights the growing role of AI in clinical nutrition research and the need for continued innovation to integrate ML tools into healthcare settings. Sander continues his research as a PhD candidate, focusing on AI-driven precision health in diabetes management.p