Speaker

Ellen Blaak


Maastricht University

Prof. Ellen Blaak is Professor of Human Biology at the Department of Human Biology since 2007 and
is Chair of the Department of Human Biology. Her research focuses on the role of disturbances in fatty
acid metabolism and interorgan cross-talk (gut-adipose tissue-muscle metabolism) in the aetiology of
obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (>300 publ) as well as the impact of nutritional or lifestyle
intervention to reverse these changes. Beside being professor at Maastricht University, she is project
leader within the Top Institute Food and Nutrition, a public-private partnership of academia and
international Food Industry, focussed on precompetitive research. She is member of the Nutrition
committee of the Dutch Health Council and of several advisory board/grant evaluation committees.
She obtained funding from among others the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific research/Dutch
Diabetes Research Foundation/EU as a PI for 30 research projects and has supervised more than
30PhD theses.