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The fourth edition of the Cross-border Health Meet-up will take place on 18 November at the House of Connections in Groningen. The aim is to strengthen cross-border healthcare collaborations between the Netherlands and Germany. ‘The Dutch and German border regions face the same challenges but have very different healthcare systems.’

De Universiteit Gent kent een Sarton-medaille en gelijknamige leerstoel toe aan Rina Knoeff, hoogleraar Health and Humanities aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Ze krijgt de medaille voor haar verdiensten op het gebied van de medische geschiedenis. In haar inaugurele rede, die op 17 oktober plaatsvindt, stelt de Groningse hoogleraar dat we een hoop kunnen leren van de premoderne kijk op het vrouwelijk lichaam. 

Technologie als bondgenoot voor een gezonder leven. Dat is het thema van de Aletta Dive ‘Samen Sterker’ op 18 oktober. Claudine Lamoth, UMCG-hoogleraar bewegingsanalyse, slimme technologie en veroudering, geeft alvast haar visie op het succesvol inzetten van technologie. Daarbij is de interactie met de eindgebruiker cruciaal. ‘We zeggen vaak dat we mensen niet kunnen bereiken, maar we zouden dat meer bij onszelf kunnen leggen.’

According to Erik Buskens, the new scientific director ad interim of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, knowledge institutions should guide public policy. ‘Science is not only about acquiring knowledge, it should also serve society.’

UG scientist Christian Zuidema discusses how we can jointly move towards a sustainable society. A smart transition requires a better distribution of advantages and disadvantages, he argues.

Op het gebied van gezondheid staan we voor enorme, complexe uitdagingen. Door vergrijzing, stijgende zorgkosten, groeiende gezondheidsongelijkheid en personeelstekorten schieten de huidige zorg- en welzijnssystemen tekort. Ook technologische veranderingen, waaronder digitalisering, en economische en maatschappelijke verschuivingen spelen een belangrijke rol.

Groningen, September 19, 2024 - On the recommendation of the Executive Board of the University of Groningen (RUG), Erik Buskens is the new scientific director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health (Aletta), effective immediately. Buskens, Professor of Population Health Management UMCG, Faculty of Economics and Business (RUG) and AJSPH, succeeds Brigit Toebes. Brigit Toebes will fully focus on her position as professor of health law in an international perspective at the Faculty of Law at the RUG.

The European Researchers' Night, a science festival with mini-lectures, experiments, music and dance, returns to Groningen on Friday 27 September. In the run-up to the event, participating researchers give a sneak preview. Today, UG scientist Marieke Pijnenborg talks about social media and mental health. Social media platforms are here to stay, the professor notes. The question is how we relate to them.

Collective behavior change is one of the most important and difficult challenges in public health. It is a matter of cooperation, but according to Yori Ong, a dentist and physicist at the University of Groningen, getting people to cooperate on long-term collective interests is not an easy task. In a new M20 study, Ong and colleagues look into this problem.

The European Researchers' Night, a science festival with mini-lectures, experiments, music and dance, returns to Groningen on Friday 27 September. In the run-up to the event, participating researchers give a sneak preview. Today, UG scientists Kim Poldner and Ellen van der Werff talk about ‘circular textiles’. Although the rise of ‘ultra-fast fashion’ is disturbing, the two researchers also see great opportunities, for example in the field of digital fashion.

The Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health and Lifelines, the largest data and bio-bank in the Netherlands, are organising the Lifelines Researchers Community Event on 10 October.

Would it be possible to sue the tobacco industry for violating human rights, as Milieudefensie did with Shell in 2019? Brigit Toebes, full professor of Health Law and scientific director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, believes so. In this interview, she talks about the 'guiding role' of law to promote health, the importance of prevention and the right balance in regulation. 'We need to put human values and dignity above economic benefits.'

Students with refugee backgrounds often struggle with social interactions with their teacher and peers. PhD student Yol Nakanishi is going to conduct research on these interactions of young refugees in the classroom through an M20 grant. “Through collaboration of different disciplines, we have obtained an innovative perspective to develop a practice-based intervention that is actually needed.”

For many people, taking a walk around the block is something they hardly think about, but for people with physical disabilities it is not nearly as straightforward. A new M20 study examines the mismatch between the city and the individual. “There are a lot of barriers for people with physical disabilities that are not being considered,” says professor of health geography Louise Meijering.

Reports about menopause are often negative; they are often about getting older, the loss of femininity or the symptoms that come paired with it. Many women are therefore anxious about this period. According to PhD student Hanneke de Boer, it is quite possible that this negative view of the menopause makes the symptoms worse for many women; She will investigate this in a new M20 study.

Het kabinet moet voortvarend handelen om de therapeutische toepassing van MDMA mogelijk te maken. Daarnaast kan er van regulering voor de recreatieve markt geen sprake zijn zolang er geen zekerheid is over terugdringen van de criminaliteit en de mogelijkheden van regulering nog niet concreet zijn uitgewerkt. Dat zijn de belangrijkste conclusies van de Staatscommissie MDMA.

Reactie Aletta Jacobs School op hoofdlijnenakkoord

Het akkoord op hoofdlijnen van de partijen PVV, VVD, NSC en BBB is op 16 mei officieel gepresenteerd. Drie experts van de Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health (AJSPH) maken zich zorgen over de plannen. Volgens hen is er nauwelijks aandacht voor een gezonde leefomgeving en mentale gezondheid van jongeren.

The four Schools for Science & Society of the University of Groningen will again host the European Researchers' Night in Forum Groningen in 2024. The Forum will be transformed into a science hotspot on 27 September, bringing science closer to the public. Three researchers look back on last year's edition. 'The audience was very involved and active.'

Prof. Brigit Toebes and Dr Michelle Bruijn have been awarded a grant from funding organization Zonmw, with the help of which they will fund the research project ‘Alcohol regulation: navigating between allowing and prohibiting’ for four years. The American prohibition has not worked, and the Dutch rather liberal approach is not necessarily a success either. So what is optimal?

PhD/i, de leergemeenschap voor interfacultaire promotietrajecten aan de RUG, wordt vanaf mei ondergebracht bij de Schools for Science & Society. Volgens wetenschappelijk directeur Konstantin Mierau is het de gedroomde plek. ‘Binnen de Schools kunnen we verder werken aan de positieve zichtbaarheid van interfacultaire en interdisciplinaire PhD’s en hun begeleiders.’

The Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health and the Centre of Expertise Social Sciences Health and Well-being are jointly organizing an event on citizen science at the House of Connections in Groningen on May 14th from 12:00 to 17:00. According to Lisette van der Meer, director of the centre of expertise, citizen science can offer new opportunities in the social sciences.

Are you an early career researcher in the field of public health? Would you like to broaden your network, increase your visibility, further develop yourself professionally, and organize inspiring events? Then join Aletta’s Talent Network steering committee!

The Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health is organizing a summer school on health equity from July 1 to 5. Growing older leads to more health problems, that's natural, but even within the same age groups, health is not equal. According to Marije Bosch and Erik Buskens, the coordinators of the summer school, that's a big problem. ''We need to create an environment where people are empowered to engage in healthy behaviors, thus preventing unwanted and unfair inequality.''

ERN

On April 2nd, the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health organized a meet and greet with the health centers. During this short but content-packed event, presenters from the UMCG, NHL Stenden, Hanze and the RUG gave us insight into their perspectives on health and healthcare.

Arts in Health summerschool

Aletta Dive - Sex Matters

ERN

Arts in Health