1.5 million for Genetics and Well-being professor Meike Bartels

Bartels will use this personal grant from NWO to a better understanding of the causes of differences in happiness and wellbeing. People who feel good function better and have more lasting relationships. With advanced data analysis techniques and wellbeing training in large samples with (epi) genetic, metabolic, and environmental data, the pathways to and from wellbeing will be mapped. Wellbeing can be maintained and improved with this new knowledge. In this Vici project, Bartels, often referred to as the 'Happiness Professor-, will use the unique multi-omics (genomics, epigenomics, metabolomics, and exposome) data from the Netherlands Twin Register and the UK Biobank to develop models to analyze the dynamic patterns between biological factors and environmental factors so that we can better understand differences in wellbeing. She will also offer gamified wellbeing training to large groups of twinpairs to find out which wellbeing training works for whom. Bartels: -Just like physical fitness, one can train happiness and wellbeing.