PhD candidate NOK Clinics & Universiteit van Maastricht

An increasing number of people with overweight or obesity are being treated with medication such as GLP-1 agonists (including Ozempic and Wegovy). But what does that treatment actually do to someone's nutritional intake, eating behavior, and vitamin status? Surprisingly little is known about this - and we are going to investigate it together with you. For a new research line from NOK Clinics and NUTRIM (Maastricht University), we are looking for a physician who wants to combine clinical work with a 3.5-year PhD trajectory.

What will you do?
As a researcher (24 hours per week) you will map out:

How nutritional intake, dietary preferences, and eating behavior change during medicinal treatment;

How often nutritional and vitamin deficiencies occur in this target group;

What the best preventive treatment for this is;

Your research varies from cross-sectional questionnaire research to nutrikinetic research, within the Physiology of Human Nutrition (PHuN) research group at Maastricht University. You will join an active research group with multiple PhD candidates and receive substantive guidance from our research coordinator.

You are a BIG-registered physician;

You have an affinity with or interest in scientific research;

You find it interesting to be at the forefront of a relatively unexplored field of research;

You can work independently and switch easily between clinical practice and research.

Access to the internationally recognized PhD program of NUTRIM, with excellent guidance and training.

About NOK Clinics & Nutrium

The Nederlandse Obesitas Kliniek (NOK) is the largest and most specialized independent clinic in the Netherlands for the treatment of people with overweight and obesity. For more than 30 years, we have been treating people at our 11 locations through metabolic bariatric surgery or medication in combination with lifestyle guidance, and we do this in multidisciplinary teams.

NUTRIM (Maastricht University) is a leading research institute with approximately 450 researchers, including 300 PhD candidates, focused on nutrition, lifestyle, and personalized medicine. NUTRIM promotes health and personalized medicine by researching lifestyle- and disease-related metabolic disorders and developing targeted nutritional, exercise, and pharmacological interventions. This is supported by advanced research infrastructure and close collaboration between scientists, clinicians, and students.
The internationally recognized PhD program offers excellent guidance and training, encouraging young researchers to bridge the gap between fundamental science, clinical practice, and public health.

Curious and/or want to apply?

For questions, you can contact Valerie Monpellier (vmonpellier@obesitaskliniek.nl) or Nele Steenackers (nele.steenackers@maastrichtuniversity.nl) or apply directly by uploading your CV and motivation letter addressed to our HR advisor Dominique de Nooij.