NRK (Nienke) Zwart MSc

Nienke Zwart is a PhD candidate at the department Nutrition and Disease at Wageningen University, the Netherlands.

Her research focusses on the role of folate, its synthetic form folic acid, and their respective sources (diet versus supplements) in colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes. Data will be obtained through the COLON study, which is a study among newly diagnosed patients with colorectal cancer who are followed before, during and after treatment. Currently, more than 2300 participants are involved. Participants provided information on dietary habits, dietary supplements and other lifestyle factors through questionnaires. In addition, blood samples were collected. In her PhD project the intake and concentrations of folate, folic acid, and related biomarkers in relation to (1) acute or long-term side-effects of chemotherapy, and (2) recurrence and survival will be studied. Moreover, she will research if the association between folate, folic acid, related biomarkers and CRC outcomes depend on genetic variations in folate-related genes and DNA methylation of folate-responsive genes.

Nienke completed her bachelor’s degree in biology at Leiden University, the Netherlands. In 2022 she graduated from Wageningen University and Research with a master’s degree in biology.