16th February 2021: With 22,435 email enquiries into health and nutrition training in the past year, many related to the pandemic, The Health Sciences Academy (THSA) have launched their Nutrition Accelerator Scholarship, designed to make professional health education more accessible and affordable. The scholarship, which will run until 31st December 2021, involves access to an exclusive certification of choice with 1,000 places available to prospective nutrition students.

The program will be led by Maurice Castelijn, Co-founder and CEO of The Health Sciences, with support from female nutrition leaders Alex Ruani PhD(c), doctoral researcher, Chief Science Educator and Co-Founder at THSA, and Michelle de la Vega, PhD and Vice President of Science Education at THSA.

There will be a special announcement webinar with full information on Tuesday 16th February at 4pm GMT, run by Maurice Castelijn. You will be able to access it via this link.


THSA offers 13 client-focused certifications in health and nutrition science, with a global student population of 34.4% from the UK, 18.4% from the US and Canada, and 47.2% rest of the world. Its most popular certification is the Nutritional Therapist course which focuses on helping clients identify and mitigate nutrient deficiency risks.

The global health coaching market, which was valued at 8bn in 2018, is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 6.8%, with a focus on delivering disease prevention programs to at-risk populations, helping them achieve healthier lifestyles, and more access to nutrition information.

The Nutrition Accelerator Scholarship removes the access barrier many face when entering professional health education, opening the courses up to anyone with a restricted income (whether as a result of COVID, or otherwise), and who want to make a difference to others. The criteria are simple, with an emphasis on applicants completing their training within a period of 6 months.

Criteria:
Those with restricted income (whether as a result of COVID layoff or otherwise)
Be able to allocate sufficient learning time
Be passionate about wanting to make a difference to others
Complete within 6 months maximum
One certification of choice
Cannot have obtained another scholarship with THSA previously

Maurice Castelijn, CEO and Founder of The Health Sciences Academy says: “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for better health education, and access to it. A recent survey by Public Health England found that 7 in 10 adults are motivated by COVID-19 to make healthier lifestyle changes, and invest in their personal health. However, most people are unable to afford or access good health education programs. There are so many choices, and many people don’t know where to start. The scholarship program is designed to remove these access barriers, and help people learn, and in turn educate themselves and others around good health practices. We want to be the start, middle and end of people’s journeys, offering them the education, support and information they need to become certified health and nutrition professionals.”

Alex Ruani, PhD(c), doctoral researcher and Chief Science Educator at THSA comments: “To date, most medical schools offer very little training when it comes to nutrition education. The scholarship provides core programs around several topics relating to health and nutrition science, and have been designed to bridge the gap between nutrition knowledge and its practical application, to create highly qualified nutrition professionals who can make a difference. We focus on evidence-based practices and learning that are accessible and convenient, and now available to everyone. Our aim is to boost people’s understanding of nutrition science in a way that they can apply it practically, therefore benefiting others.”

Certifications available via the Nutrition Accelerator Scholarship:

Nutritional Therapist
Advanced Dietary Supplements Advisor
Advanced Research Techniques
Advanced Clinical Weight Loss Practitioner
Advanced Child and Brain Development Nutritional Advisor
Advanced Fertility Nutritional Advisor
Advanced Sports and Exercise Nutritional Advisor
Advanced Sleep Management Advisor
Detox Specialist
Advanced Gut Restoration Nutritional Advisor
Nutrition for Cancer Prevention and Longevity
Advanced Stress Management Advisor
Advanced Food Allergies and Intolerances Nutritional Advisor

To find out if you’re eligible, visit The Health Sciences Academy website and carry out a self-assessment. If accepted, you will be offered a place. THSA has a 92% success and satisfaction rate amongst their existing nutrition students.

The Nutrition Accelerator Scholarship is available to prospective students who want to achieve one certification of their choice and have not been previously accepted to another scholarship from The Health Sciences Academy.

Applications open on 1 February. The scholarship requires a small administration fee, for students to have ‘skin in the game’ and for the company to offer full support and produce additional webinars and events.

-END-

Notes for Editors

For more information, or to book interview time with Maurice, Alex and Michelle, please contact:

Hayley Smith
Boxed Out PR
+447516794896
hayley.smith@boxedoutpr.com

About The Health Sciences Academy
Full information can be found here https://thehealthsciencesacademy.org/values-and-mindset/ and https://thehealthsciencesacademy.org/nutrition-accelerator-s...

About Maurice Castelijn, MBA

Maurice Castelijn is the CEO of The Health Sciences Academy. Maurice completed his Master in Business Administration at the London Business School. After a successful career in organisational change management, including COO and Program Director roles on large-scale cross-border integrations, Maurice co-founded The Health Sciences Academy. Under his direction, THSA has built a learner experience which is fully customised to its students and their respective learner journeys. As an efficiency expert, Maurice has made it possible to support over 100,000 learners and scale beyond.

Maurice has turned THSA into a purpose-driven company, which is now focused on enabling professionals to help make a difference to people/end-clients who struggle with their health. Maurice is also the visionary behind the Clinic Toolkit, the world’s first platform for nutrition professionals where nutrition science education and professional client engagement come together, to benefit THSA graduates and their client opportunities.

About Alex Ruani PhD cand Nutr Sc Ed, Chief Science Educator at The Health Sciences Academy

Alex Ruani is a Doctoral Researcher in Nutrition Science Education at University College London, and Chief Science Educator at The Health Sciences Academy, where she leads a team of accomplished scientists and PhDs on large education and publishing projects helping 160,000 working and aspiring nutrition professionals succeed in their careers. Her expertise is sharing what’s new and what’s actually working in the field of nutrition, giving learners the tools they need to stay on top of evidence-based advice and get ahead of the curve.

Alex has authored 50+ science books and reports on health and nutrition, from appetite neurochemistry and eating psychology, to gut microbiomics and nutritional epigenetics. And she has led the curriculum design and content for 15+ accredited Certifications and 60+ CPD courses equipping nutrition professionals with the latest personalisation strategies to help their own clients – from sports nutrition, to clinical weight loss; advanced supplements, to child IQ nutrition, to nutrition for cancer prevention.

About Michelle de la Vega, PhD Research Scientist (PhD) and Science Educator at The Health Sciences Academy.

Michelle grew up with a passion for science and nature, which led to her pursuing an undergraduate degree in biology and her introduction to research. During her first three years of lab work at the Harvard Cancer Center two decades ago, she compared the effects of nutritional compounds on normal cells and on cancer cells. Later on, in her PhD studies, she investigated epigenetic changes in cells and how they lead to cancer. In 2009, she received a PhD in molecular biology from Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her further post-doctoral studies have focused on looking at alterations inside of cells that occur due to diseases like cancer, and she has since published 12 studies in high-impact scientific journals. The more we know about our bodies, the better chance we will have at living a healthy life. That is why she got into teaching. She loves learning about ways to make ourselves the healthiest we can be, so why not share all the knowledge? Besides training junior scientists in the lab, she has developed and taught university degree courses on cancer biology, focusing on all aspects of the disease: epidemiology, genetic and cellular changes, treatment and prevention, including the nutritional components.