Title:
Healthy diet and lifestyle for CVD prevention – a revised version for the “Diet at Heart”
educational tutorial (e-learning tool)
Project
Optimal Blood Lipids Science area
Start
Preferred start June-July 2015
Duration
min 4 months, ideally 5 months
Location
Unilever R&D Vlaardingen
Number of students 1
Requirements
Required: MSc student nutrition & health, health science or related. Good background in human
nutrition and dietetics. Having experience as a dietician may be useful. Interest in diet and disease
prevention. Good writing and communication skills
Supervision
Elke Trautwein and Mireille Blommaert, Unilever R&D Vlaardingen
Description
Context: Unilever Discover Vlaardingen is Unilever’s central research institute for the Food
Business. Within Unilever Discover Vlaardingen, the Nutrition and Health group works on the
application of nutritional knowledge and science in a broad range of Unilever products. The
Optimal Blood Lipids science area within the Nutrition and Health group focusses on the impact
of dietary management on blood lipids and provides scientific support to Unilever’s Heart
health brands. It is part of the communication strategy to further enhance the understanding of
the role of diet in the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease in close
collaboration with external partners, international experts and health societies.
Background: The tool “Diet at the Heart” (DietattheHeart.com) is a comprehensive tutorial for
those interested in the dietary management of dyslipidaemia and the prevention of cardiovascular
disease. The tool, launched in November 2014, has been developed in collaboration with leading
experts and is endorsed by the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS).
To prepare for a second version of the tutorial, it is aimed to broaden especially the sections
addressing a healthy diet and lifestyle for CVD prevention based on newest literature and the latest
international guidelines.
Goal:
1. To prepare a revised version of the “Healthy diet and lifestyle for CVD prevention” section and
its sub-sections “Diet and lifestyle intervention for CVD prevention”, “Impact of dietary changes
to cholesterol levels” and “Dietary changes to further improve LDL-cholesterol levels”.
2. Submit the revised version of the tool to a selected number of external experts and the EAS to
obtain their assessment and endorsement.
Activities: This project is a research-collaboration between Unilever R&D and external partners.
Working place and daily supervision will be arranged by Unilever.
Activities are:
 Reviewing literature
 Developing insights into needs of healthcare professionals on information related to a healthy
diet
 Drafting a proposal for discussion with the external partners
 Preparing a revised version of the diet and lifestyle sections including tables, figures and a
revised list of references
 Obtaining endorsement from external experts.
Other
Reimbursement of €500 per month + housing costs up to €300 per month
Information
Application
elke.trautwein@unilever.com
Applications (CV and letter) should be send to Wendy.Blom@unilever.com
More information about internships at Unilever can be found here:
http://www.unilever.com/careers-jobs/graduates/internships/index.aspx