In this episode, we speak with Professor Meike Bartels, a leading expert in behavioural genetics and the science of wellbeing. She shares insights from her research on the genetic and environmental influences on our wellbeing. We explore why the concept of subjective wellbeing is problematic. We also discuss the promise and limitations of personalized medicine, including how polygenic scores are being used in health care, and the challenges of translating genetic insights into clinical practice. Professor Bartels reflects on her leadership as Head of the Department of Biological Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and her time as director of the Research Master's in Genes in Behaviour and Health.
About Professor Meike Bartels:
Meike Bartels is Professor in Genetics and Wellbeing at the Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She started her line of research into happiness with a VENI and open competition grant from NWO. In 2014, she was appointed Professor under the University Research Program of the VU. She published, among other things, the first molecular genetic evidence and the first genetic variants for wellbeing. She received an ERC Consolidator grant to consolidate her research line and an NWO-VICI grant to further expand her research. She is a board member of the International Positive Psychology Association and was director of the Research Master Genes in Behavior in Health. She leads and supervises various research projects to gain insight into the underlying sources of variation in happiness and wellbeing. With the foundation XplorIT (the foundation for wellbeing and human potential), she explores a paradigm shift towards a new governance of commons, in which the principles of wellbeing are the starting point, enabling collectives of human potential, in order to address today’s and tomorrow’s societal challenges.
To learn more about Professor Bartels' recent research explore the links below:
https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/meike-bartels
You can follow her on LinkedIn and/or Bluesky @meikebartels.bsky.social
Special thanks to Joost Canters and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for their support in producing this podcast episode.
