Jessie Hulst

Chair of Nutrition Advisory Committee; Parenteral Nutrition Lead, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Project Investigator, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Research Institute. 

Co-Director of Advanced Clinical Nutrition Fellowship, Department of Paediatrics

Dr. Jessie Hulst is a staff gastroenterologist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Associate Professor in both the Department of Paediatrics and Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Previously, Hulst served as a Staff Gastroenterologist at Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam, Netherlands (2011 to 2018). Her extensive academic background includes the completion of her PhD focusing on nutritional assessment in critically ill children in 2004.

Throughout her career, Hulst has been deeply involved in advancing the field of paediatric nutrition. She served as a member of the ESPGHAN committee on Nutrition (2014-2018), acted as the previous chair of the ESPGHAN Clinical Malnutrition Special Interest Group, is a current member of the ASPEN malnutrition committee and NASPGHAN Nutrition committee.

She co-chairs the Paediatric Working Group of the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force and leads the implementation of a national paediatric Malnutrition Pathway in Canada. She serves as a Distinguished Fellow in Child Nutrition at the Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, University of Toronto, with a mission to enhance physician competency in both clinical and public health nutrition through educational initiatives and resource development.

Clinically, Hulst specializes in complex nutrition and intestinal failure, serves as the hospital's Parenteral Nutrition medical lead and chairs the Nutritional Advisory Committee since 2019.

Research

Dr. Hulst research aims to find and apply appropriate methods for nutritional screening and nutritional assessment in children with medical conditions, with the ultimate goal of improving their outcome with appropriate intervention that evolves from screening and assessment. She has made significant contributions to the academic literature, with over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and more than 10 book chapters to her credit.

Education and experience

• 2008–2011: Clinical Fellowship, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
• 2004–2008: Paediatric Residency, Erasmus Medical Center- Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands & HAGA Hospital - Juliana Children’s Hospital, the Hague, the Netherlands
• 2001–2004: PhD, Graduate School, Erasmus University, Faculty of Medicine, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. PhD thesis: “Nutritional assessment in critically ill children. A search for practical tools”
• 1991–2000: MD, Erasmus University, Faculty of Medicine, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (27-01-2000, BIG registration number 69051977901)
• 1991–1997: M.Sc. degree, Erasmus University, Faculty of Medicine, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
• 1995–2000: Medical school, Faculty of Medicine, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
• 1993–1995: University of Texas at El Paso (USA), Study General Science, Athletic Scholarship
• 1991–1993: Medical school, Faculty of Medicine, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands

Achievements

• 2025: CPA Grant Competition Award, The Department of Paediatrics Creative Professional Activity (CPA)
• 2020: Citizen of the Year Award, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (Team award)
• 2020-Present: Member of the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force (CMTF) Advisory Council
• 2019: Best Scientific Abstract Oral Session European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN), Glasgow, Scotland (role as primary supervisor)
• 2019: Award Bataafsch Genootschap, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (Sept 7, 2019): one of two best University Master thesis over years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 for L Strengers, Medical Master student, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (role as primary supervisor)
• 2018: Most Valuable Personal Contribution to the EU funded MyCyFAPP project, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam
• 2018: Most Contributing Partner to the EU funded MyCyFAPP project, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam
• 2014–2018: Chair of the Paediatric section of the Dutch Malnutrition Taskforce
• 2012–2018: Member of National Forum healthy nutrition for children aged 0-4 years
• 2009–2018: Chair of the multidisciplinary Nutritional committee of Erasmus Medical Center - Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
• 2008–2016: Secretary of the Nutritional Committee of the Dutch Paediatric Association (NVK)

1. Brunet-Wood K, Tul-Noor Z, Bandsma R, Carter LE, Fleming-Carroll B, Gramlich L, Hutchison K, Huysentruyt K, Kalnins D, Marchand V, Martinez A, Pai N, Vachon M, Hulst J, Pediatric Working Group CMTF. Development of the Pediatric Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care (P-INPAC) using a modified Delphi technique. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2024 Feb 6. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38320255.
2. Vlug L,Neelis E, Wells JC, Fewtrell MS, Kastelijn W, Olieman JF, Vermeulen MJ, Roelants J, Rizopoulos D, Wijnen RMH, Rings EHHM, de Koning BAE, Hulst JM. Anthropometrics and fat mass, but not fat-free mass, are compromised in infants requiring parenteral nutrition after neonatal intestinal surgery. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Feb 9;115(2):503-513. PMID: 34637493
3. Hulst JM, Huysentruyt K, Gerasimidis K, Shamir R, Koletzko B, Chourdakis M, Fewtrell M, Joosten KF; Special Interest Group Clinical Malnutrition of ESPGHAN. A Practical Approach to Identifying Pediatric Disease-Associated Undernutrition: A Position Statement from the ESPGHAN Special Interest Group on Clinical Malnutrition. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2022 May 1;74(5):693-705. Epub 2022 Mar 3. PMID: 35258497
4. Chourdakis M, Hecht C, Gerasimidis K, Joosten KF, Karagiozoglou-Lampoudi T, Koetse HA, Ksiazyk J, Lazea C, Shamir R, Szajewska H, Koletzko B, Hulst JM. Malnutrition risk in hospitalized children: use of 3 screening tools in a large European population. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 May;103(5):1301-10. PMID:27099244
5. Hulst JM, Zwart H, Hop WC, Joosten KFM. Dutch national survey to test the STRONGkids nutritional risk screening tool in hospitalized children. Clin Nutr. 2010 Feb;29(1):106-111. Epub 2009 Aug 13. PMID:19682776

See a full list of Jessie Hulst's publications

Funding 

• 2024–2027: The role of diet, as mediated by the gut microbiome, on childhood arthritis activity: a feasibility intervention study. (Nominated Principal Investigator, Dr. Brian Feldman). Co-Investigator. CIHR Project Grant.
• 2023–2026: Precision nutrition approaches for targeting mental health in IBD. (Principal Applicant Dr. John Parkinson). Co-PA. Weston Family Foundation Proof of Principle 2023 program.
• 2023–2025: Parenteral versus Enteral Fluids for infants Hospitalized with Bronchiolitis: the PREFER shared decision-making study. (Principal Investigator Dr. Peter Gill. Co-applicant. PSI Foundation.
• 2022: Patient-Oriented Research (Early-Career Researcher) Priority Announcement. Co-applicant. CIHR Project Grant.
• 2022: Reduced caloric feeds in the early management of ill severely malnourished children (Nominated Principal Applicant, Dr. Robert Bandsma). Co-applicant. CIHR Project Grant.
• 2020: Paediatric Malnutrition: Quantifying the Burden and Improving Practices related to Screening, Assessment and Management across a Tertiary-Care Centre (IMPACT-QI). Principal applicant. Paediatric consultant partnership’s grant for creative professional activity.
• 2020: Precise nutritional therapy for critically ill children: providing a pragmatic and rational basis for therapy. (PI Dr. Haifa Mtaweh). Collaborator. AGA Research Foundation Research Scholar Award (RSA).
• 2019: Canadian Microbiome Initiative2: A Focus on Function and Translation Research Teams (Nominated Principal applicant John Parkinson): A mechanistic understanding of the impact of pathogen-microbiome dynamics on maternal nutrition in adolescent pregnancies. Consists of strong multidisciplinary team. Principal Applicant. CIHR Team grant.
• 2018: Grant for Research of Pediatric intestinal failure team of Sophia Children’s Hospital, large local charity event (March 2018). Principal Investigator.
• 2014: MyCyFAPP project: Innovative approach for self-management and social welfare of Cystic Fibrosis patients in Europe: development, validation and implementation of a telematics tool. Partner (peer reviewed). Principal Site Investigator: HORIZON 2020.
• 2009: Malnutrition and Outcome in Hospitalized Children in Europe, co-applicant in international study (lead: Berthold Koletzko, Munich; peer-reviewed). Co-Investigator: ESPEN Research network grant application.