Exposome MOOC
Start date Tuesday, November 2, 2021
End date Tuesday, December 19, 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. On 10 February 2021 Utrecht University and Exposome-NL launched a new MOOC: The Exposome – cracking the science about what makes us sick. And now, half a year later, it already makes a comeback!
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)
The exposome: a wild idea
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.
Join our experts in this 6-week course
In this MOOC researchers from Utrecht University and/or Exposome-NL will offer their expertise. Amongst others Roel Vermeulen, Virissa Lenters and Daniel Oberski 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.