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Prof. Dr. Esther Aarts is a Principal Investigator at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, heading the Food & Cognition research group at the Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. Her research focuses on neural mechanisms of eating behavior as well as how the foods we consume impact our brain functioning, using functional neuroimaging. Many effects of diet on neuro-cognition happen through the gut microbiome and immune system. She and her group are studying these peripheral-central links particularly in relation to dopamine-related brain functions such as motivational and cognitive control.
Esther Aarts has been awarded several personal grants, such as a Niels Stensen stipend (for her postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley, USA), an AXA Research Fund fellowship, an NWO-Veni grant, and an ERC starting grant.
Esther Aarts is also the main applicant and project leader of the public-private NWO-crossover project MOCIA, a personalised prevention approach for maintaining optimal cognitive function in aging.