Join NIHES-Erasmus MC’s one year research-training programme in the health sciences for Science without Borders undergraduates!

This special programme focuses on study design, biostatistics, and clinical epidemiology. It also addresses the principles of research in medicine and epidemiology; clinical decision analysis; methods of public health research; markers and prognostic research; the practice of epidemiologic analysis, and health economics.

The programme is open to Science without Borders scholars in the last years of their undergraduate studies. It starts on August 6, 2013, and lasts 12 months. NIHES-Erasmus MC offers you a once in a lifetime study opportunity, combined with a hands-on research experience!

More information on this page.

Science without Borders (SwB) is a Brazilian Government scholarship programme which aims to send 101,000 Brazilian students on undergraduate sandwich courses, PhD sandwich courses and full PhDs to study in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and creative industries at top universities around the world. The priority areas of the Science without Borders Programme include the health and biomedical sciences.

From left: Mateus Justi Luvizotto (Catholic University of Paraná), Dominique dos Santos Morais Pordeus (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte), Nicole Machado Utpott (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), Eduardo Martelli Moreira (Catholic University of Paraná), Prof. Albert Hofman (NIHES Science Director), Dr. Anton van Schijndel (NIHES-Brazil Knowledge Platform), Guilherme Apgáua Figueiredo Godoy (Federal University of Minas Gerais), Gustavo de Castro Lima (Federal University of Minas Gerais).

These are the undergraduate students currently studying at NIHES-Erasmus MC with a Science without Borders scholarship: Read more…

Nicole is a first-year statistics student at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in the city of Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. In August she will be travelling to Rotterdam to attend a one-semester programme in research training in Health Sciences at NIHES-Erasmus MC. Nicole is one of several undergraduate students throughout Brazil to be awarded a Science without Borders scholarship.

Described by her supervisors as resourceful, enthusiastic and a problem-solver, Nicole is currently working as a programmer on a statistical team of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health. This study looks at associations between chronic diseases and biological, behavioural, occupational, social and environmental factors.

The training course at Erasmus could not have come at a better time for Nicole, who is interested in becoming a biostatistician. Statistics students in Brazil have few opportunities to gain practical experience, especially when it comes to biostatistics, and she wants to improve her knowledge. Knowledge the 22-year-old intends to take back with her to Porto Alegre and apply in the study she is working on. Read more…

Mateus is a fifth-year medical student at the Catholic University of Paraná in the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil. In August he will be travelling to Rotterdam to attend a one-semester programme in research training in Health Sciences at NIHES-Erasmus MC. Mateus is one of several undergraduate students throughout Brazil to be awarded a Science without Borders scholarship.

Described by one of his professors as sociable, hard-working and a creative problem-solver, Mateus already has some research experience, having worked on a project studying the cardiovascular complications of kidney disease. This research in an experimental rat model has kindled an interest in cardiology and nephrology, but he is also looking forward to learning more about epidemiology and biostatistics.

The 25-year-old hopes that his visit to Rotterdam will equip him with broader knowledge and possibly provide him with contacts for his post-graduate career, during which he would like to combine teaching with scientific research. He is proud that he has been given this opportunity to study at a university of such reputation and recognition as Erasmus. Read more…

Eduardo is a fifth-year medical student at the Catholic University of Paraná in the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil. In August he will be travelling to Rotterdam to attend a one-semester programme in research training in Health Sciences at NIHES-Erasmus MC. Eduardo is one of several undergraduate students throughout Brazil to be awarded a Science without Borders scholarship.

A hard worker and a keen participant in extra-curricular activities, he is currently finishing off a research project studying intra-abdominal hypertension and its effects on the kidney. Thanks to a language course in Canada, he also has a head start with his English.

Eduardo is eager to extend this international experience during his visit to the Netherlands. He hopes to learn more about the European approach to the research and care of critically ill patients. He says the knowledge he takes back with him will be used to help improve both the quality and quantity of research in Brazil. While at Erasmus MC he also hopes to establish contacts useful for future collaborations in future research projects. Read more…

Dominique is a third-year medical student at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in the city of Natal, north-eastern Brazil. In August she will be travelling to Rotterdam to attend a one-semester programme in research training in Health Sciences at NIHES-Erasmus MC. Dominique is one of several undergraduate students throughout Brazil to be awarded a Science without Borders scholarship.

Dominique has always wanted to study abroad and feels privileged to have been accepted for the programme. The 20-year-old is attracted to the progressive and tolerant ideals of the Netherlands and chose Erasmus MC for its international profile and worldwide recognition. For her, Erasmus MC provides a perfect match of education and research.

A student with a wide range of interests, Dominique is keen to participate in research in fields such as ageing, neuroscience, oncology and chronic pain. She is appreciative of the investments in her education and hopes that her personal achievements will enable her to contribute professionally to her community. Read more…

Guilherme is a fifth-year medical student at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in the city of Belo Horizonte, south-eastern Brazil. In August he will be travelling to Rotterdam to attend a one-semester programme in research training in Health Sciences at NIHES-Erasmus MC. Guilherme is one of several undergraduate students throughout Brazil to be awarded a Science without Borders scholarship.

The 24-year-old became aware of the programme during an inspiring conversation with the director of the university hospital and a staff member of the medical faculty’s international relations office. And now that he has been accepted he is keen to make a start.

Despite gaining experience in a number of different specialties over the past 5 years, Guilherme feels he would like to see more in the way of research. The programme at Erasmus will not only help fill this gap but also feed his interest in evidence-based medicine. He finds it important that medical students broaden their horizons and learn and understand the values of scientific methods. Read more…

Gustavo is a fourth-year medical student at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in the city of Belo Horizonte, south-eastern Brazil. In August he will be travelling to Rotterdam to attend a one-semester programme in research training in Health Sciences at NIHES-Erasmus MC. Gustavo is one of several undergraduate students throughout Brazil to be awarded a Science without Borders scholarship.

A student with many academic achievements, Gustavo was attracted to Erasmus by its international reputation and excellent teachers. His interest in international studies goes beyond a pursuit for language proficiency and cultural immersion however. Through voluntary work in the community, the 21-year-old has become very aware of the importance of public health.

Gustavo is honoured to be actively representing his country at an accredited university in the Netherlands. He feels this programme is not only a means of consolidating partnership between the two universities, but also enables closer ties between Brazil and the Netherlands. He says there are aspects that the two countries can learn from each other, particularly with regard to public health. Read more…

DOHaD 2012 Satellite Meeting: New Developments in Developmental Epidemiology
Congress centre De Doelen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, December 6-7, 2012

Many diseases have their origins in fetal life and early childhood. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis led to the start of numerous prospective pregnancy and birth cohort studies in different countries all over the world. As part of the 10 years anniversary of the Generation R Study, this DOHaD 2012 Satellite Meeting will be focused on Developmental Epidemiology. This meeting will bring junior and senior researchers together who are involved in Developmental Epidemiology research all over the world. There will be state of the art and recent research lectures of the role of adverse nutritional exposures, genetics and epigenetics in development of chronic diseases throughout the life course. Also, specific methodological issues for long term cohort studies will be discussed. Recent results will be presented by both oral and poster presentations.

More information available here.

Stockholm, Sweden, June 18 2012
This year’s Folksam Award for epidemiological research goes to Professor Albert Hofman at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Professor Hofman’s research is focused on risk factors for neurological and cardiovascular diseases in the elderly. One of his theses is that the reason that disease risks increase with age is not age per se, but that fact that risk factors accumulate as we grow older. Hofman is principal investigator of the Rotterdam Study, in which large amounts of data are collected, including blood samples for molecular and genetic analyses. One main conclusion from the study is that there are great and largely untapped opportunities for the prevention of disease in the elderly.

Read more on the Karolinska Institutet website.