During Maastricht University’s 50^th Dies Natalis, the Swedish professor Peter Stenvinkel will receive an honorary doctorate for his pioneering research on nephrology (kidney medicine) and planetary health. The award means a great deal to him. “I see this honorary doctorate as recognition of both my research and the collaboration between the fields of nephrology and planetary health.”

Stenvinkel studied medicine at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute in the 1970s and 80s. He specialised in nephrology and was appointed professor at the Karolinska Institute in 2009. He is also a senior lecturer at the Karolinska University Hospital. His research focuses, among other things, on how kidney failure affects ageing processes, especially in the vasculature.

Since 2023, Stenvinkel has been a visiting professor at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM). As a nephrologist, he draws energy and inspiration from working with professors Leon Schurgers and Tilman Hackeng, who focus on cardiovascular health. “Together, we’re exploring how we can use nature to treat disease. We’ve been studying different wild animals: for example, we found that bears don’t urinate during their winter sleep (hibernation), lose very little muscle mass and don’t suffer from osteoporosis. We’re curious about why this is the case – because if we can understand that, we may be able to apply those insights to new treatments for chronic diseases in humans, such as kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. We are also interested to learn from animals that show few signs of ageing, such as bats, naked mole rats and Greenland sharks. They can teach us a lot about healthy ageing.”

Another topic Stenvinkel finds fascinating is food as medicine. “Some vegetables, like broccoli sprouts, contain compounds that can help prevent or treat disease. To make the most of food as medicine, we need more research. For example, around 200 types of fruit grow in the Amazon region, most of which we still don’t know. I want to explore that further, because it could be a goldmine for treating diseases linked to unhealthy lifestyles.”

Innovation that serves society

This year’s Dies Natalis theme is UM50: A milestone and another step – we keep innovating and serving society. Stenvinkel feels a strong connection to this theme. “I’m a big supporter of innovation, as long as it serves society. And to innovate, collaboration between different disciplines is essential. Together, zoologists, vets, biologists, ecologists and technologists can achieve a great deal in the fields of health, ageing and sustainable medical innovation. My collaboration with CARIM is a good example of that.”

Stenvinkel is convinced we can learn from nature, so much so that he has written a book about it: Learning from nature: The power of biological intelligence. In it, he describes the links between our health, fundamental natural elements (sun, water, wind), biodiversity, gut microbiota and food production. He also gives examples that show how strategies from nature can help us age healthily while also protecting the planet.

“But to that end, we have to take our environment much more seriously,” he says. “Forests and oceans are nature’s infrastructure, crucial to the survival of people and animals. Unfortunately, governments around the world pay far too little attention to this, if you ask me. We’re rapidly losing animal and plant species that could have taught us a great deal. So if we want to live long and healthy lives, we need to take much better care of nature.”