Prof. M.T.E. Hopman
Maria Hopman is Professor of Integrative Physiology at Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen and Visiting Professor at Wageningen University.
The research of Maria Hopman is best summarized by the theme Active Aging or Preventive Medicine. The overall goal of her research is to improve ‘health’ and to understand the concept of ‘vitality’ of individuals as they age from conception to decease by unraveling the mechanisms that explain the relationship between inactivity and the development of chronic diseases as well as exercise and health. Interventions such as exercise that are known to counteract the detrimental health processes are explored and optimized. In the last years her research interest is expanded to food and the impact of food on exercise and health, and she is actively involved in the Eat2Move center of excellence.
Her career started out with research in spinal cord injured individuals on cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses to exercise. This research has been expanded in the past 25 years to a variety of topics in spinal cord injury. Her research is strong in vascular physiology and pathophysiology as well as on metabolic aspects of health, thereby focusing on patients with cardiovascular disease, the metabolic syndrome and diabetes, with emphasize on primary and secondary prevention. The research has a strong history in human in vivo experiments in several patient groups and in healthy volunteers from all ages.
A parallel line is the research performed in large sports events (Four Day Marches Nijmegen, Seven Hill Race, Eindhoven Marathon). The purpose of this research is to provide safety guidelines for organizations and participants based on physical exertion and risks measured during those events. This type of research has a strong interest from the media and the society.
Maria Hopman contributed to more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and is editor for the Journal of Applied Physiology and for Physiological Reviews. She is a board member of the Dutch Physiology Society and of the American College of Sports Medicine. Maria Hopman is a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands and is a scientific advisor to the Netherlands Institute of Sport & Physical Activity (NISB) and the Dutch Obesity Clinic (NOK).
Suggested further reading:
http://www.eat2move.nl/ (Dutch)
http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/project/Eat2Move-center-of-excellence-for-nutrition-and-exercise.htm (English)
http://gelderland-werkt.nl/gw_projecten/Zijn-gezonde-bewegers-ook-gezonde-eters.html (including video)
http://www.ru.nl/onderzoek/over/onderzoeksthema/gezondheid/gezondheid/maria-hopman-oz/ Dutch)
http://www.ru.nl/english/research/radboud/themes/health/vm/maria-hopman/ (Englsih)
http://www.ru.nl/radbot/afleveringen/radbot-vierdaagse/ (including videos)