Bachelor Student Prize Winner

Eighteen students completed their bachelor's degree in 2020 with a thesis that was labelled ‘excellent’ by their faculty. Here you will find a short introduction to these excellent theses in the form of an "elevator pitch" from each student, plus a video in which the supervisor briefly addresses the lucky winner.

Evi Groenhuijzen

 Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences | Bachelor Biomedical Sciences

"Fetuin B in white adipose tissue associates with insulin resistance"

Evi's elevator pitch 
The fatty liver secretes proteins (hepatokines) that cause insulin resistance. Fetuin B has been discovered as one of the fatty liver-responsive hepatokines, and plays an unknown role in maintaining glucose homeostasis.  This study found that plasma fetuin B is associated with glucose intolerance after adjustment for insulin sensitivity, suggesting a role of fetuin B in the regulation of glucose effectiveness. There is evidence to suggest that fetuin B is secreted by the liver and taken up by white adipose tissue (WAT). WAT fetuin B is associated with insulin resistance, indicating fetuin B regulates glucose homeostasis via unknown effects, possibly on WAT or glucose effectiveness.