Barbara Verhaar (MD) is a PhD candidate in the Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands, focusing on the gut microbiome and ageing of the heart and brain, including the role of short chain fatty acids. She published a paper in the European Heart Journal on gut microbiota and hypertension in the HELIUS cohort study, and is working on a intervention study with short chain fatty acids. In addition, she is interested in programming and biostatistics.