prof.dr.ir. EJM (Edith) Feskens

Prof. Edith Feskens (Breda, 1962) obtained her MSc degree in Human Nutrition from Wageningen University in 1987. In the same year she started her PhD at Leiden University, at the department of Social Medicine under supervision of prof. Daan Kromhout. She received her PhD degree in 1991 (‘epidemiological studies on glucose tolerance – dietary determinants and cardiovascular consequences’). She continued to work at the RIVM (National Institute of Public Health and the Environment) until 2005 in various roles such as head of the unit of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Epidemiology. She was involved in ao the Zutphen Study and EU projects on obesity and diabetes, such as Diogenes and InterAct.

In 2005 she was appointed as associate professor at the chair group of Nutritional Epidemiology at Wageningen University, and in 2008 she became personal professor in Nutrition and the Metabolic syndrome. In 2015 she was appointed as chair of Nutrition and Health over the Lifecourse, and subsequently chair of Global Nutrition in 2018.

She currently is ao. co-director of the Gerrit Grijns Initiative (http://bit.ly/3v0lBfn) and theme leader at OnePlanet (https://oneplanetresearch.nl/). She is certified supervisor in Epidemiology (https://www.epidemiologie.nl/) and in Nutrition Sciences (NAV (voedingsacademie.nl)). Until November 2022 she was Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of JPI-HDHL (https://www.healthydietforhealthylife.eu/). In December 2022 she was elected as Council Member of the IUNS (International Union of Nutritional Sciences).

Since January 2019 the combined lifestyle intervention for the prevention of type 2 diabetes (SLIMMER) that was developed by her and her team over the period 1998-2018, is included in the Dutch basic health insurance  (https://www.nogslimmer.nl/); a true milestone. Currently, she focuses on combatting malnutrition in all its forms, globally and in particular in low and middle-income countries, and including trade-offs with sustainability.