Course
NutriScience. Global nutrition: from nutrients to whole diets
Postgraduate course on Nutriscience with a multifaceted approach to nutrition research
Background
Nutritional science is a rapidly changing field, with an increasing need for a multidisciplinary approach. It draws upon biology, food technology, epidemiology and psychology to answer a wide range of questions related to nutrition and human health. This covers questions like: How do dietary patterns influence health and well-being of individuals and populations? What are the physiological responses of the human body to diet? Through which biological pathways can nutrients affect metabolism? What are the determinants of eating behaviour? The "toolbox" of nutritional science for studying these questions has expanded in the past decade. The complexity of the diet and its relation to human health calls for a new generation of nutritionists who are able to integrate the knowledge from different areas in nutrition research. After following this course research professionals will better able to approach their research in a multi-faceted way and put their findings in a broader context.
Target group
The course is aimed at research professionals (PhD level) who are at the start of their career in nutritional science, or other scientists who want to become familiar with the broad field of nutritional research. Participants should have a background in biology, medicine, psychology, food science, or other life sciences and should have basic knowledge of human biology, biochemistry and statistics.
Course aim
After the course, the participants will have a state of the art overview of the field of nutritional science. They will have basic skills in applying different study designs and methodologies (both established and new techniques) in the field of nutritional science. This course will also provide a framework to integrate knowledge from different disciplines in nutrition.
Course design
The course comprises 4.5 days (9.00-18.00 h). The programme consists of keynote lectures, followed by a series of lectures, practicals and workshops. In addition, attendees make an assignment during the course in which they discuss and apply the obtained knowledge. The subject matter covers research on cellular, individual and population level. The focus of this year's course is on global nutrition, that is Western as well as non-western nutrition. Moreover, nutrition research will be approached from a reductionist’s point of view, i.e. nutrient focussed, as well as a more holistic, whole diet, point of view.
Programme topics
Amongst others the following topics will be covered:
- Dietary guidelines, a global perspective
- Novel dietary assessment tools
- NutriProfiel
- Resilience and Personalised nutrition
- From nutrients to whole foods/diets
- The taste of diets
- Microbiota and micronutrients
Organisation
Course coordinators
- Dr Lydia Afman, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
- Dr Monica Mars, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
- Dr Sabita Soedamah-Muthu, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
Other faculty
ETH Zurich:
Prof Michael Zimmerman
Netherlands Nutrition Centre:
Dr Astrid Postma-Smeets
TNO Innovation for Life:
Dr Suzan Wopereis
Wageningen University & Research:
Division of Human Nutrition
- Dr Alida Melse-Boonstra
- Dr Inge Brouwer
- Dr Michiel Balvers
- Dr Anouk Geelen
- Dr Martin Mwangi
- Dr Wilma Steegenga
- Dr Juri Matualatupauw
- Sophie Schutte
- Pey Sze Teo
- Arli Zarate Ortiz
Date & duration
The course will be held 4.5 days, from 19 - 23 June 2017.
Study load
The study load of this course is 1.4 ECTS credits.
Language
The course language will be English.
Contact information
Information concerning the course contents can be obtained from Dr Monica Mars, phone: +31 317 485340.
For organisational matters please contact:
Mrs. Yvonne Smolders
The Graduate School VLAG
P.O. Box 17
6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 317 485108
Email: yvonne.smolders@wur.nl
Location & accommodation
The course venue is Conference Centre Hof van Wageningen. The town of Wageningen is 5 km from Ede-Wageningen railway station, with transport options being taxi or bus. Ede-Wageningen railway station is about one and a half hours from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. For train schedules visit: www.ns.nl.
A number of hotel rooms have been blocked at Hof van Wageningen. Accommodation costs are € 75, - (single room; bed & breakfast) per night. Participants have to book their own room by sending an e-mail to: info@hofvanwageningen.nl. Please book your room before 8 May 2017 and mention booking code NutriScience17.
Registration & course fee
To be able to fill in the registration form, you need a "VLAG-events account".
To create this account, please click here: create account.
If you already have a "VLAG-events account" you can directly go to the course registration form.
The final registration date is 19 May 2017.
Applicants will be informed of acceptance of their registration before 19 May 2017. They will receive instructions for payment and further course details.
Course fee includes printed materials, coffee/tea during breaks, lunches and the course dinner but does not cover accommodation. The course fee depends on the participant's affiliation:
| VLAG/WU PhD candidates | € 250 |
| PhD candidates | € 500 |
| University Staff / Non-Profit organisations | € 750 |
| Industry / For-Profit | € 2000 |
Cancellations policy
- No charge until 19 May 2017
- 25% of the course fee paid or due till 11 June 2017
- No refund after 11 June 2017
Substitutions for participants may be made at any time until the start of the course.