Professor of the Year 2024, Ursula Schwab, shares studied information about nutrition in clear language
The Finnish Union of University Professors has chosen Ursula Schwab, Professor of Nutrition Therapy at the University of Eastern Finland, as Professor of the Year 2024. The appointment was announced at the Union’s public event ‘Statements from the Scientific Core’ in Kuopio on Thursday, 11 January 2024. The prize sum for Professor of the Year is EUR 20,000.
Schwab is a well-known representative and developer of Nutrition Science. She has led several international research projects, including research on non-alcoholic fatty liver with funding from the European Commission.
“Professor Schwab’s field of research requires cooperation between different parties in challenging experimental designs, and presenting and interpreting the results is the result of many years of long-term work. Schwab is a pioneer in her field and has been able to turn research results into practical recommendations,” says Jukka Heikkilä, Chair of the Finnish Union of University Professors, explaining the choice of the Professor of the Year.
Schwab is also a well-known media expert who provides studied information about nutrition in clear language and corrects misconceptions about it.
“Professor Ursula Schwab takes a stand on the difficulties in healthcare and advocates long-term preventive work in particular. Prevention saves resources, but above all, it is humane when people get treatment before acute situations,” says Jukka Heikkilä.
Schwab is a prolific publisher, between 1992 and 2023, she has published 233 peer-reviewed scientific articles in international and domestic journals. In addition, she has written a large number of articles aimed at her profession and the general public.
In addition to the University of Eastern Finland, Schwab conducts research and teaches also at Kuopio University Hospital. Schwab was elected a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in 2019. She has also received the title of Influencer of the Year in 2013 from the Finnish Association of Academic Agronomists, and the Nutritionist of the Year award in 2010. In addition, she has been awarded the Young Investigator’s Award of the Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in 2000 and 2002.
Ursula Schwab studied at the University of Kuopio and the Tufts University in Boston. She defended her doctoral dissertation with the title Metabolic effects of fat modified diets in healthy females and subjects with impaired glucose tolerance in 1998.
More information:
Professor Ursula Schwab, tel. +358 40 355 2791
Professor Jukka Heikkilä, Chair of the Finnish Union of University Professors, tel. +358 45 657 5757