Research Programs
ROAHD
The ROAHD programme is aimed at understanding the effects of paternal and maternal determinants on the developmental process, from gamete to adult, to increase the chances of a healthy life and prevent the occurrence of illness in later life. The ROAHD research activities include:
- Investigating paternal and maternal preconceptional, preimplantation, and pregnancy-related determinants and predictors of future health and disease of the mother, the gametes, and the offspring;
- Investigating screening and diagnostic procedures used before conception and during pregnancy to identify disease, or disease risk, in the mother, the gametes, and the offspring;
- Exploring interventions used before conception and during pregnancy to promote the health of the mother and the future child;
- Conducting implementation research to gather evidence for optimal perinatal care.
NiM
In the Nutrition Research in Medicine program, we create a close network of nutrition scientists within the UMCG. We are working from 'bed to bench and beyond', in observational cohort research, patient-related research, and fundamental research. As lifestyle is a multi-organ target, diet has great potential to impact the onset, treatment, remission and comorbidities in chronic diseases. We reach our goals by:
- strengthening each other with methodological innovations in nutritional science
- facilitate academic, paramedical and clinical talent in healthcare-related nutritional science
- collecting (hospital based) nutritional data that can be used for research
- being a point of contact for external partners
VALUE
To build a more sustainable health care system we need to focus on the measurement of value in terms of how well the delivered care meets individual patients’ needs. These needs may be different for each person, and what constitutes the best intervention may be different for each patient. We identify and generate supporting evidence for the best health interventions. To deal with these issues at a societal level, we carry out investigations that take a multidisciplinary approach in which the clinical, economic, business, decision science, and public health perspectives come together.
In our research we:
- assemble the evidence that certain strategies can prevent the onset of disease in people or a decline in their health condition;
- increase the benefits for patients by identifying and generating supporting evidence for the best health interventions.
LCE
The LCE programme aims to provide more insight into and determine the dynamic character of the association and changes in risk factors and exposures with disease outcome throughout life. Concepts such as accumulation of risk, critical and sensitive periods, and trajectory and path analysis are important in this.
The LCE researchers focus on observational longitudinal studies. In-depth methodological knowledge of longitudinal data analyses is required to conduct studies covering the life span of patients and healthy individuals. The overall aim of the LCE programme is to:
- Unravel the complex origins of disease, with an eye to primary prevention;
- Improve the quality of care by investigating mechanisms relevant in the course of disease, thus contributing to secondary and tertiary prevention.
Education innovation hub
This year, the department has launched the healthcare education innovation hub, a platform for evaluation and innovation of teaching. The goals of this initiative are to evaluate content of current courses in terms of content and innovation using peer review from teaching staff in the department. In addition, incorporating AI in teaching efficiency and content is an important theme, as well as using and developing e-learning tools.
The initial meetings were focused on current courses offered to PhD students and Master students from the Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology program, discussing content and opportunities for introducing new topics. More recently developed courses on AI, eHealth and Machine Learning have also been evaluated.
Since its inception, the innovation hub has attracted attention from other departments and possibilities to expand the hub to encompass teaching in other departments of the cluster PPP are being explored.
Grant writing
Since September 2024, the Funding Support Officer has played a central role in assisting researchers and students in navigating the competitive external funding landscape. The focus has been on early preparation, proactive communication, and fostering a collaborative culture around grant writing. This approach aims to make the funding process more accessible and effective for staff, PhD candidates, postdocs, and master’s students.
Our Approach to Funding Support
Key components of our strategy include:
- Proactive Funding Identification: Regular dissemination of funding opportunities and maintenance of an internal grant tracker updated monthly.
- Personalized Guidance: One-on-one support with budgeting, documentation, submission timelines, and general grant strategy.
- Regular Grant Application Meetings: Monthly meetings for discussing ongoing proposals, exchanging advice, and peer-reviewing draft applications.
- Skills Development: Promotion of training sessions and workshops, including the OECI Academy Grant Writing Course and Horizon Europe information sessions.
Our goal is to provide structure and continuity, ensuring researchers remain organized, informed, and confident throughout the grant application journey.
Future Goals
Looking ahead, we aim to build on our progress and further enhance our impact through the following initiatives:
- Streamline Internal Processes: Improve internal workflows for proposal tracking and review.
- Expand Training Opportunities: Offer more structured workshops and tailored sessions for different experience levels.
- Foster Peer-to-Peer Support: Formalize peer review and mentoring networks for proposal development.
- Increase Awareness of Funding Landscapes: Organize targeted briefings on key funders and upcoming calls.
- Boost Application Volume and Success Rates: Encourage and support more researchers to apply, with a focus on improving competitiveness and quality.
- Develop Metrics for Impact Tracking: Introduce clear KPIs to evaluate support effectiveness and inform future strategy.
Coaching groups
As of 2024, we have implemented coach groups for PhD candidates across the entire department of Epidemiology. These groups consist of approximately 5-8 PhD candidates and a “coach”, who generally has experience in completing a PhD. The groups meet bi-weekly and provide a dedicated time and space for PhD candidates to discuss day-to-day challenges with peers.
The idea for the coach groups originated in one of the department’s units during the COVID-19 pandemic, when restrictions and working from home reduced social interactions with colleagues to a minimum. There was a need for PhDs to stay connected with peers and to talk about both personal and work-related challenges. Even after the COVID restrictions were lifted, the coach groups continued as they were experienced very positively by those attending. This positive feedback led to the implementation of coach groups across all units of the department.
There is a lot of variation in the topics discussed during the meetings. Importantly, it is a safe place to share personal struggles if needed. It is, however, also the perfect place to ask for advice on upcoming presentations, manuscript submissions, courses, daily life in the Netherlands, restaurants in Groningen, and holiday plans – just to name a few.
Social activities
Within our department, we cherish a strong tradition of organizing a variety of social activities throughout the year. These moments are not only fun and relaxing, but they also strengthen our team spirit.
Highlights include our annual department outings and festive Christmas drinks. The outings typically feature a physical component — from the legendary Escape Tour, an app-based city puzzle game, to wall climbing and pitch & putt at Kardinge. Sometimes the outings are a bit more socially engaging, such as the time we participated in volunteer work in the heart of Groningen, contributing to the local community in a hands-on way. We traditionally round off the day with a shared dinner in good company.
One special tradition is the yearly EpiSpring walk (est. since 2022). We take an afternoon to enjoy a walk of up to 10 kilometres in the beautiful surroundings of Groningen. Past editions took place near the Hoornsemeer the Paterswoldsemeer and the Kardinge area. Under the motto "Walk some, talk some", it's the perfect opportunity to recharge, reconnect, and simply enjoy each other’s company outside the workplace. And of course, we traditionally round of the afternoon with some drinks and bites in a local establishment.
Methodology meeting
For several years, the Department of Epidemiology, chaired by Prof. Gerton Lunter, has been leading the Methodology Meeting: an informal, biweekly, peer-consultation-style gathering where methodologists from various departments come together to discuss practical, technical, and organizational matters related to methodology. This meeting is highly valued by its participants and is one of the ways in which the Department of Epidemiology maintains a strong network with other methodologists and provides high-quality support to many research groups.
Help! Statistics
Each month, the Department of Epidemiology organizes a talk on a practical statistical topic for a broad audience of UMCG researchers. Our aim is to present subjects relevant to everyday research practice in an accessible manner. Speakers are methodologists and statisticians from various departments within the UMCG, and topics range from power calculations (“how many patients do I need?”) and the various types of RCTs, to data visualization, Bayesian statistics, and AI.
The lecture series is part of the research program Life Course Epidemiology and is organized by program leaders Nynke Smidt (Health Behaviour Epidemiology unit) and Gerton Lunter (Statistics unit).
PPP Methodology Symposium
The Methodology Expertise Network, chaired by Michiel de Boer, is a PPP-wide forum aimed at promoting collaboration between various departments within PPP, specifically in the field of research methodology. To support this goal, the Network has organized a symposium in each of the past two years - both well-attended and well-received. These events have strengthened the connections between methodologists within the PPP, resulting in increased contributions to the Methodology Meeting, Help! Statistics talks, and the upcoming merger of the master's programs in CPE and Human Movement Sciences.