On the 12th of June 2025, Felix Reichelt, a PhD candidate at the Department of Genetic Epidemiology at the UMCG and member of the Stress in Action consortium, presented his research during the visit of a delegation from the Wissenschaftsrat (German Science and Humanities Council) to Groningen. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wick, the delegation is preparing a policy advice paper for the German federal government on strengthening public health and prevention policy.

The visit to the Netherlands included stops in The Hague, where institutions such as NWO and NIDI shared experiences with the implementation of prevention policy, and in Groningen, where the focus shifted to regional health promotion. At the UMCG, the delegation attended a session titled Evidence Generation in Prevention, featuring three presentations by PhD and postdoctoral researchers working with data from the Lifelines cohort.

In his presentation (photo 1), titled Heritability of Stress Exposures: Insights from the Lifelines Cohort, Felix discussed how various stress exposures are not only heritable but also genetically correlated. He emphasized the importance of identifying individuals who are genetically more sensitive to stress, and outlined how cohort-based genetic data can help clarify the mechanisms linking stress to cardiometabolic outcomes.

Representing the Stress in Action consortium, Felix also highlighted how this interdisciplinary initiative contributes to bridging knowledge gaps in stress-related health vulnerabilities. His participation helped demonstrate the value of cohort-based research in developing personalized and prevention-oriented strategies at both national and international levels.

Ahead of the session, Felix gave an interview to the Lifelines team, reflecting on his research, data use, and experience with the infrastructure (photo 2).