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Dr Lobke Starr-Vaanholt

Dr Lobke Starr-Vaanholt
Dr Lobke Starr-Vaanholt
Dr Lobke Starr-Vaanholt

PhD FHEA

Lecturer (Scholarship)

About
School/Department
School of Biological Sciences

Biography

I currently work as a lecturer (scholarship) in the School of Biological sciences. In addition to my role in Aberdeen, I am year 1 lead for the MBCHB programme at Dundee University.

I completed my MSc and PhD in biomedical sciences at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands in 2007, and then continued my research as research fellow in the Energetics Group at the University of Aberdeen, where I worked until 2015. From 2016 to 2019 I worked as a STEM learning coordinator at the Aberdeen Science centre before returning to the university of Aberdeen in 2019 as a lecturer in the international study centre. 

Qualifications

  • MSc Biomedical Sciences 
    2002 - University of Groningen 
  • PhD Animal Behaviour and Physiology 
    2007 - University of Groningen 

External Memberships

Member of Royal Society for Biology (MRSB)

Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Research

Research Overview

My main research interests lie in animal physiology and behaviour. I have a keen interest in metabolism, ageing and physiological factors that limit our performance. My PhD focused on the relationship between metabolism and ageing, and the physiological mechanisms underlying senescence. My postdoctural work focussed on unravelling the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying body weight regulation. Our understanding of the molecular basis of weight regulation has exploded over the past 20 years, spurred on by the discovery of leptin in 1994. Despite this progress many questions remain unanswered and the prevalence of obesity is ever increasing. It is intriguing that under the same environmental conditions, some people gain weight and become obese, whereas others maintain energy balance and remain slim. My research has focussed on the physiological and neurological mechanisms involved in these individual responses to caloric restriction (i.e., dieting). I found that individuals that were prone to diet-induced weight loss showed a differential expression profiles of neuropeptides and their receptors in the arcuate nucleus of the brain compared to individuals that were resistant to diet-induced weight loss.

I have keen interest in educational research, in particular with a focus on increasing student engagement and progression, and the use of electronic teaching tools and technologies. 

Research Areas

Biological and Environmental Sciences

View Research Area

Research Specialisms

  • Animal Physiology
  • Behavioural Biology
  • Physiology

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

Teaching

Programmes

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

Course Coordinator

  • Population Ecology (EK3303)
  • Comparative Physiology I (BI2524)
  • Behaviour Biology (BI3505)
  • Marine Field Ecology (BI25F9)

Lecturer

  • Diversity of Life II (BI1512)
  • Ecology (BI2020)
  • Population Ecology (EK3303)
  • Comparative Physiology I (BI2524)
  • Behaviour Biology (BI3505)

Supervisor

  • Honours Projects (BI4016)
  • Honours Essays (BI4017 & BI4517)
Publications

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  • Active travelling to school is not associated with increased total daily physical activity levels, or reduced obesity and cardiovascular/pulmonary health parameters in 10–12-year olds: a cross-sectional cohort study

    Zhang, X., Smith, N. A., Sumowski, M. T., Anderson, J. M., Anderson, K., Badenoch, E. A., Brady, S. J., Coleman, M., Coull, R. F., Green, D., Innes, R. J., Laing, C. M., Mckinley, R., Mclennan, M. S., Murray, S., Phillips, B., Rae, S., Rankin, S., Satar, I., Shanks, S., Sim, F. J., Walker, N., Howard, D., Sniehotta, F. F., Jackson, D. M., VaanHolt, L. M., Hambly, C., Speakman, J. R.
    International Journal of Obesity, vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 1452-1466
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Low Citrate Synthase Activity Is Associated with Glucose Intolerance and Lipotoxicity

    Alhindi, Y., Vaanholt, L. M., Al-Tarrah, M., Gray, S. R., Speakman, J. R., Hambly, C., Alanazi, B. S., Gabriel, B. M., Lionikas, A., Ratkevicius, A.
    Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 2019, 8594825
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Beauty and the Body of the Beholder: Raters' BMI Has Only Limited Association with Ratings of Attractiveness of the Opposite Sex

    Wang, G., Ekeleme-Egedigwe, C. A., El Hamdouchi, A., Sauciuvenaite, J., Bissland, R., Djafarian, K., Ojiambo, R., Ramuth, H., Holasek, S., Lackner, S., Diouf, A., Hambly, C., Vaanholt, L. M., Cao, M., Hacker, M., Kruger, H. S., Seru, T., Faries, M. D., Speakman, J. R.
    Obesity, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 522-530
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake XXVII: trade-offs between first and second litters in lactating mice support the ecological context hypothesis

    Vaanholt, L. M., Osei, D. A., Balduci, S., Mitchell, S. E., Hambly, C., Speakman, J. R.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 221, no. 5, jeb170902
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake XXVIII: Beneficial effects of high dietary fat on lactation performance in mice

    Kagya-Agyemang, J. K., Vaanholt, L. M., Hambly, C., Król, E., Mitchell, S. E., Speakman, J. R.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 221, jeb180828
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Oxidative costs of reproduction in mouse strains selected for different levels of food intake and which differ in reproductive performance

    Jothery, A. H. A., Vaanholt, L. M., Mody, N., Arnous, A., Lykkesfeldt, J., Bünger, L., Hill, W. G., Mitchell, S. E., Allison, D. B., Speakman, J. R.
    Scientific Reports, vol. 6, 36353
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Partitioning the variance in calorie restriction-induced weight and fat loss in outbred mice

    Vaanholt, L. M., Lane, J. E., Garner, B., Speakman, J. R.
    Obesity, vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 2111-2117
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake XXIV: impact of suckling behaviour on the body temperatures of lactating female mice

    Gamo, Y., Bernard, A., Troup, C., Munro, F., Derrer, K., Jeannesson, N., Campbell, A., Gray, H., Miller, J., Dixon, J., Mitchell, S. E., Hambly, C., Starr-Vaanholt, L., Speakman, J. R.
    Scientific Reports, vol. 6, pp. 1-12
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • CB1 receptor blockade counters age-induced insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction

    Lipina, C., Vaanholt, L. M., Davidova, A., Mitchell, S. E., Storey-Gordon, E., Hambly, C., Irving, A. J., Speakman, J. R., Hundal, H. S.
    Aging Cell, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 325-335
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Oxidative costs of reproduction: Oxidative stress in mice fed standard and low antioxidant diets

    Vaanholt, L. M., Milne, A., Zheng, Y., Hambly, C., Mitchell, S. E., Valencak, T. G., Allison, D. B., Speakman, J. R.
    Physiology and Behavior, vol. 154, pp. 1-7
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • The relationship of female physical attractiveness to body fatness

    Wang, G., Djafarian, K., Egedigwe, C. A., El Hamdouchi, A., Ojiambo, R., Ramuth, H., Wallner-Liebmann, S. J., Lackner, S., Diouf, A., Sauciuvenaite, J., Hambly, C., Vaanholt, L. M., Faries, M. D., Speakman, J. R.
    PeerJ, vol. 3, e1155
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Mice that are resistant to diet-induced weight loss have greater food anticipatory activity and altered melanocortin-3 receptor (MC3R) and Dopamine receptor 2 (D2) gene expression

    Vaanholt, L. M., Mitchell, S. E., Sinclair, R. E., Speakman, J. R.
    Hormones and Behavior, vol. 73, pp. 83-93
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Factors influencing individual variability in high fat diet-induced weight gain in out-bred MF1 mice

    Vaanholt, L. M., Sinclair, R. E., Mitchell, S. E., Speakman, J. R.
    Physiology and Behavior, vol. 144, pp. 146-155
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake. XXII. Reproductive performance of two selected mouse lines with different thermal conductance

    Al Jothery, A. H., Krol, E., Hawkins, J., Chetoui, A., Saint-Lambert, A., Gamo, Y., Shaw, S. C., Valencak, T., Buenger, L., Hill, W. G., Vaanholt, L. M., Hambly, C., Speakman, J. R.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 217, no. 20, pp. 3718-3732
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake. XXI. Effect of exposing the mother, but not her pups, to a cold environment during lactation in mice

    Valencak, T. G., Wright, P., Weir, A., Mitchell, S. E., Vaanholt, L. M., Hambly, C., Król, E., Speakman, J. R.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 216, no. 23, pp. 4326-4333
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake. XX. Body temperatures and physical activity of female mice during lactation

    Gamo, Y., Troup, C., Mitchell, S. E., Hambly, C., Vaanholt, L. M., Speakman, J. R.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 216, no. 19, pp. 3751-3761
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake. XIV. Heritability of reproductive performance in mice

    Vaanholt, L. M., Sinclair, R. E., Speakman, J. R.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 216, no. 12, pp. 2308-2315
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • The '39 steps': an algorithm for performing statistical analysis of data on energy intake and expenditure

    Speakman, J. R., Fletcher, Q., Vaanholt, L.
    Disease Models & Mechanisms, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 293-301
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Factors predicting individual variability in diet-induced weight loss in MF1 mice

    Vaanholt, L. M., Magee, V., Speakman, J. R.
    Obesity, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 285-294
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Reduction in BACE1 decreases body weight, protects against diet-induced obesity and enhances insulin sensitivity in mice

    Meakin, P. J., Harper, A. J., Hamilton, D. L., Gallagher, J., McNeilly, A. D., Burgess, L. A., Vaanholt, L. M., Bannon, K. A., Latcham, J., Hussain, I., Speakman, J. R., Howlett, D. R., Ashford, M. L. J.
    Biochemical Journal, vol. 441, no. 1, pp. 285-296
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Ambient temperature shapes reproductive output during pregnancy and lactation in the common vole (Microtus arvalis): a test of the heat dissipation limit theory

    Simons, M. J. P., Reimert, I., van der Vinne, V., Hambly, C., Vaanholt, L. M., Speakman, J. R., Gerkema, M. P.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 214, no. 1, pp. 38-49
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Effects of selective breeding for increased wheel-running behavior on circadian timing of substrate oxidation and ingestive behavior

    Jónás, I., Vaanholt, L., Doornbos, M., Garland, T., Scheurink, A. J. W., Nyakas, C., van Dijk, G.
    Physiology and Behavior, vol. 99, no. 5, pp. 549-554
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Daily torpor in mice: high foraging costs trigger energy-saving hypothermia

    Schubert, K. A., Boerema, A. S., Vaanholt, L. M., de Boer, S. F., Strijkstra, A. M., Daan, S.
    Biology Letters, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 132-135
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Limits to sustained energy intake XII: is the poor relation between resting metabolic rate and reproductive performance because resting metabolism is not a repeatable trait?

    Duarte, L. C., Vaanholt, L. M., Sinclair, R., Gamo, Y., Speakman, J. R.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 213, no. 2, pp. 278-87
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Exercising for life? Energy metabolism, body composition, and longevity in mice exercising at different intensities

    Vaanholt, L. M., Daan, S., Garland, T., Visser, G. H.
    Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 239-51
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Metabolism and aging: effects of cold exposure on metabolic rate, body composition, and longevity in mice

    Vaanholt, L. M., Daan, S., Schubert, K. A., Visser, G. H.
    Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, vol. 82, no. 4, pp. 314-324
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Maternal energy allocation to offspring increases with environmental quality in house mice

    Schubert, K. A., de Vries, G., Vaanholt, L. M., Meijer, H. A. J., Daan, S., Verhulst, S.
    The American Naturalist, vol. 173, no. 6, pp. 831-840
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Female mice respond differently to costly foraging versus food restriction

    Schubert, K. A., Vaanholt, L. M., Stavasius, F., Demas, G. E., Daan, S., Visser, G. H.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 211, no. 14, pp. 2214-2223
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Protein synthesis and antioxidant capacity in aging mice: Effects of long-term voluntary exercise

    Vaanholt, L. M., Speakman, J. R., Garland, T., Lobley, G., Visser, G. H.
    Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 148-157
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Metabolic and behavioral responses to high-fat feeding in mice selectively bred for high wheel-running activity

    Vaanholt, L. M., Jonas, I., Doornbos, M., Schubert, K. A., Nyakas, C., Garland, T., Visser, G. H., van Dijk, G.
    International Journal of Obesity, vol. 32, no. 10, pp. 1566-1575
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Behavioural and physiological responses to increased foraging effort in male mice

    Vaanholt, L. M., De Jong, B., Garland Jr, T., Daan, S., Visser, G. H.
    Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 210, no. 11, pp. 2013-2024
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Plasma Adiponectin is Increased in Mice Selectively Bred for High Wheel-running Activity, but not by Wheel Running per sé

    Vaanholt, L. M., Meerlo, P., Garland, T., Visser, G. H., van Dijk, G.
    Hormone and Metabolic Research, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 377-383
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Wheel-running activity and energy metabolism in relation to ambient temperature in mice selected for high wheel-running activity

    Vaanholt, L. M., Garland, T., Daan, S., Visser, G. H.
    Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology, vol. 177, no. 1, pp. 109-118
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Beta-endorphin modulates the acute response to a social conflict in male mice but does not play a role in stress-induced changes in sleep

    Vaanholt, L. M., Turek, F. W., Meerlo, P.
    Brain Research, vol. 978, no. 1-2, pp. 169-176
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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