2 November 2021
Utrecht University offers several MOOCs: Massive Online Open Courses. These allow you to explore scientific subjects from the comfort of your own home. As the name implies, these courses are free and open to everyone. Earlier this year Utrecht University and Exposome-NL launched a new MOOC: The Exposome - cracking the science about what makes us sick. As from February 7th you can enroll in the fifth round of this course.
Exposome research requires transdisciplinary approaches. Therefore, this MOOC will be of interest to current and prospective students and researchers in the fields of public health, environmental health, life sciences, clinical medicine, geosciences, humanities, and social and behavioural sciences.
Virissa Lenters (Assistant Professor at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht)
What are the causes of disease? We know that most diseases result from a combination of genes and environment (nature and nurture). Our genes alone do not determine our fate. For most complex diseases, externalities - environmental factors in the broad sense - are more important. This includes our living and working environments, diet, social support and stress, pollution, and exposure to infectious agents. Exposome research is about discovering the non-genetic drivers of health and disease.
In this MOOC researchers from Utrecht University and Exposome-NL will offer their expertise. Amongst others Roel Vermeulen, Virissa Lenters, Kees de Hoogh, Joline Beulens and Rick Grobbee will introduce you to the exposome concept; why it’s important; how we measure the exposome; and the data sciences steps needed to establish associations with health outcomes. This course will conclude with reflections on what is needed to advance this nascent and transformative field of research.
Air quality Biostatistics Cardiovascular Health Exposure Science Food Environment Metabolomics
The environment we live in has a dominant impact on our health. It explains an estimated seventy percent of the chronic disease burden. Where we live, what we eat, how much we exercise, the air we breathe and whom we associate with; all of these environmental factors play a role. The combination of these factors over the life course is called the exposome. There is general (scientific) consensus that understanding more about the exposome will help explain the current burden of disease and that it provides entry points for prevention and ...
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