Martijn Bernard Katan (born 1946) is a Dutch nutritionist, an emeritus professor at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

and author of two popular science books on nutrition.

Early life

Katan was born in

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

in 1946.

Education

He studied chemistry and biochemistry at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

. He obtained his PhD in

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

in 1977 under

Piet Borst Piet Borst CBE (born 5 July 1934, in Amsterdam) is emeritus professor of clinical biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Amsterdam (UVA), and until 1999 director of research and chairman of the board of directors of the Netherla ...

from the same university.

Career

Katan started working at

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as WUR) is a public university, public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally i ...

in 1976 where he researched "Nutrition and risk factors for cardiovascular disease". In 1998, he was appointed professor of human nutrition at the university. He was also the "Nutrition Foundation Professor" at the

University of Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistently been included in ...

from 1985 to 1998. Between 1998 and 2003 he was scientific director of the Nutrition and Health program of the Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences. In 2003 Katan became a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

. In 2005 he moved from Wageningen University to the

where he was appointed professor of nutrition. Katan is a member of the

Dutch Health Council The Health Council of the Netherlands or the Dutch Health Council () is an independent Netherlands, Dutch science, scientific advisory board, advisory body with the task of advising the government and parliament about matters in the areas of public ...

. He took up emeritus status in 2011. In 2022, he was elected a member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

Research

Katan's research focuses on the relationship between nutrients and their effects on the heart. Katan gained notoriety for his research on cholesterol and

trans-fat Trans fat is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in foods. Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally, but large amounts are found in some processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils. Because consumption of trans fats is associated ...

s. He demonstrated, among other things, that boiled coffee creates a cholesterol burden that filtered coffee does not. His research on the harmful effects of trans-fatty acids has encouraged the food industry to minimize the use of trans-fats in the food supply.

Honors and awards

* 2001: The Epstein Award;

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...

Council on Epidemiology * 2003: European Nutrition Award; Federation of European Nutrition Sciences. * 2004: European Lipid Science Award; European Federation for the Science and Technology of Lipids. * 2005:, named by the Thomson Society (formerly the

Institute for Scientific Information The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was an academic publishing service, founded by Eugene Garfield in Philadelphia in 1956. ISI offered scientometric and bibliographic database services. Its specialty was citation indexing and analysis, ...

) as a Highly Cited Researcher "in the art of Agricultural Science," which means that he is among the 250 most cited scientists in that field

Bibliography

* ''What is Healthy?: Myths and Facts About Nutrition (2008). Uitgeverij Bert Bakker. (Edition 1) & (Edition 2)'' * ''Voedingsmythes. Over valse hoop en nodeloze vrees''. (2016). Uitgeverij Bert Bakker.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katan, Martijn 1946 births Living people Dutch biochemists Dutch health and wellness writers Dutch nutritionists Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of Academia Europaea People from Arnhem Academic staff of Radboud University Nijmegen University of Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Academic staff of Wageningen University and Research