The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is a leading center for life course epidemiology research. Within the Departments of Health Sciences and Psychiatry, strong research programs focus on transgenerational and life course influences of familial and other environmental determinants of children’s growth, development, health, and well-being.
You will be appointed at the Department of Health Sciences and supervised by a multidisciplinary team from the Departments of Health Sciences and Psychiatry: Prof. de Kroon, Prof. Hartman, and Prof. Reijneveld. You will also collaborate with Prof. Nawrot (Hasselt University), an expert in biological ageing. Both departments offer a stimulating academic environment.
Overweight remains a global health concern. We seek a junior researcher/PhD candidate for the project “Father Hero” on paternal, intergenerational determinants of childhood overweight and development, compared to maternal, intergenerational determinants, and assess potential mediating pathways through telomer length, financed by the Centre for Childhood Health, Denmark.
You will conduct the project based on an existing study design. You will manage and analyze rich intergenerational TRAILS and TRAILS Next data (
https://www.trails.nl/en), and gain experience with generating telomere length data from biological samples of young children at Hasselt University (Belgium), and conduct advanced statistical analyses. You will publish findings in scientific journals, present at national and international conferences, participate in scientific meetings, and communicate results to stakeholders such as parents, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and researchers.