Tessa Roseboom studies the subsequent health effects of factors during early development. Her study on the health of people born around the time of the Dutch famine has gained global recognition. As the results demonstrated, the diets of pregnant women affect the health of their children in later life. In the coming years, Roseboom will work to translate this knowledge into more effective care and advice for pregnant women in both developed and developing countries. She aims to help ensure that every child gets a good start in life, thus improving the health of future generations.

Since 1996, Roseboom has served in various positions at the Academic Medical Centre (AMC), where she was appointed associate professor in 2010. She is also affiliated with the Moore Institute of Nutrition and Wellness at the University of Portland in Oregon. She was awarded national and international research grants from institutions such as the Nederlandse Hartstichting (the Dutch Heart Foundation), the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the European Science Foundation, European Commission, Medical Research Council and Diabetes Fonds (the Dutch Diabetes Fund).

She established a research group that studies the way in which a developing child’s environment in the womb affects its growth and subsequent development, and the resulting health effects. Roseboom has published extensively in academic journals such as the PNAS, the British Medical Journal and the Journal of the American Medical Association. She was nominated for the Academic Year Prize in 2009. Roseboom’s work has attracted international media attention (National Geographic, BBC, Time Magazine and Science, amongst others). Her published works include Babies van de Hongerwinter: de onvermoede erfenis van ondervoeding (Uitgeverij Augustus, 2010). Roseboom represents Europe in the International Society of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease council.