PhD defence N. (Niels) van der Schaft

Type 2 diabetes remains a growing public health concern. This emphasizes the need for a better understanding of its determinants and how these are related to each other. One of the primary determinants of type 2 diabetes is composition of the diet. The biological pathways through which diet exerts is effects on health are numerous and complex. For instance, diet may affect body composition, in other words the absolute and relative quantities as well as the distribution of fat mass and fat-free mass, and thereby modulate disease risk. Previous research has also put forward the notion that composition of the diet may induce or mitigate a state of chronic low-grade inflammation. This inflammation is in itself closely associated with the pathophysiology of adiposity and, through multiple pathways related or unrelated to obesity, with risk of type 2 diabetes. Considering the high prevalence of type 2 diabetes and the severity of its complications, further insight into how these factors affect type 2 diabetes risk is of great importance.

Due to corona, the PhD defences do not take place publicly in the usual way in the Senate Hall or in the Professor Andries Querido Room. The candidates will defend their dissertation either in a small group or online.