Date: August 8, 2007 (Wednesday)
Time: 2:30 – 14:00 (sandwich lunch from 12:30 –12:45; seminar begins at 12:45)
Venue: Seminar Room 7, LG/F, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Abstract:
The risk for multifactorial diseases is determined by risk factors that frequently apply across disorders (universal risk factors).  To investigate presently unresolved issues on etiology of and individual’s susceptibility to multifactorial diseases, research focus should shift from single determinant–outcome relations to effect modification of universal risk factors.

We present a model to investigate universal risk factors of multifactorial diseases, based on a single risk factor, a single outcome measure, and several effect modifiers.  Outcome measures can be disease overriding, such as clustering of disease, frailty and quality of life. “Life course epidemiology” can be considered as a specific application of the proposed model, since risk factors and effect modifiers of multifactorial diseases typically have a chronic aspect.  Risk factors can be categorized into genetic, environmental, or complex factors the latter being a combination (“endophenotype”) of multiple factors.  The proposed research model of multifactorial diseases assumes that determinant-outcome relations differ between individuals because of modifiers.  In the presentation, this will be illustrated by examples from obesity research in different ethnic groups.

LifeLines is a three-generation population-based cohort study based on these concepts.  It will be carried out in a representative sample of 165.000 participants from the northern provinces of the Netherlands.  LifeLines will contribute to the understanding of how universal risk factors are modified to influence the individual susceptibility to multifactorial diseases, not only at one stage of life but cumulatively over time: the lifeline.

Bio-sketch:
Ronald Stolk is an internationally established researcher in the clinical epidemiology of diabetes and obesity.  His current interests are the role of fat distribution and obesity in the development of chronic diseases, notably the modification of risk by body fat.  He got his medical training in Rotterdam and was subsequently trained in epidemiology at the universities of Rotterdam, Utrecht and Sydney (Australia).  He was involved in many different studies, ranging from large population based studies to randomised clinical trials with invasive clinical measurements.  His important contribution to the area of obesity epidemiologic research is the development of an ultrasound protocol to assess fat distribution.  Currently he is closely involved with two large scale population based studies in the northern part of the Netherlands: the LifeLines project, a three-generations longitudinal population-based study to investigate risk factors of multifactorial diseases and its modifiers, and the GECKO project, a large research program on childhood obesity including both clinical and laboratory studies.

During his whole professional career he has been involved with teaching epidemiology and health sciences to both undergraduate and postgraduate students.  Currently he is one of the two certified supervisors of epidemiology at Groningen University.

He is member of several national and international bodies on diabetes/obesity epidemiology and works closely with a number of renowned research groups in this area in Europe, the United States and Australia.  He has supervised 20 PhD projects (11 currently running) and published over 110 papers in international peer-reviewed journals.

Registration:
For registration and enquiries, please call Ms Maggie Cheuk at 2819-2841 or email mhrn@hkusua.hku.hk