Dionne van Tatenhove is a PhD candidate at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), where she works within workpackage 5 of the MetaHealth program on participatory health research.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and a master’s degree in Health Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. During her studies, she developed a strong interest in early life health and the microbiome, which shaped both her bachelor’s and master’s research. Alongside her studies, she worked on nutrition education interventions for children in primary schools.

Now, as a PhD student, she focuses on preventing childhood overweight and dental caries in the first 1000 days of life among children living in vulnerable circumstances. Her work focuses on co-creating, implementing, and evaluating interventions together with families, healthcare professionals, researchers, and other stakeholders.