Nutrition and Disease

The chair group comprises a team of experts in the field of epidemiology, nutrition, medicine, physiology, biostatistics and medical biology. We conduct observational epidemiological studies, experimental studies in individuals at (high-)risk or with (preclinical) disease, and meta-analyses. Novel methods of dietary assessment and data-analysis, as well as (bio)markers of exposure, function, metabolism, genetic susceptibility, body composition, and (pre-) disease are being developed, evaluated and used in these studies in collaboration with colleagues within the Division of Human Nutrition and Health.

We define two main research themes:

1. Disease aetiology and prevention

Human observational and experimental studies to study the role of healthy and sustainable nutrition, genetic susceptibility and lifestyle factors in the aetiology and prevention of chronic nutrition-related diseases, underpinned with research on pathophysiological mechanisms.

2. Clinical care and disease prognosis

Clinically orientated research focused on short-and long-term recovery of chronic and acute diseases through healthy and sustainable diets and well-accepted nutritious foods combined with physical activity.

These two themes are the core of the Chair group. Furthermore, our approach is focused on public engagement by integrating and translating scientific evidence into evidence-based guidelines on healthy and sustainable diets.

We make sure that we are optimally trained, and connected to conduct well-designed studies, and analyse and interpret the data with novel techniques and utmost care. Therefore, several people in our team focus on integrating (big) data from different sources and disciplines, data-analyses and interpretation of findings.

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