Advancing Critical Care Nutrition Through Education, Research and Collaboration

Fresenius Kabi supports intensive care nutrition through a research grant, international fellowships and collaboration with ESICM.

October 13, 2026

Fresenius Kabi, an operating company of the Fresenius Group, is helping advance intensive care nutrition by supporting both new research and the practical education of healthcare professionals. Together with the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), Fresenius Kabi funds a €20,000 Medical Nutrition Grant and international fellowships designed to strengthen the evidence base and help translate nutrition knowledge into clinical practice. The latest grant recipient and fellowship participants were presented in October during ESICM LIVES 2026 in Lisbon.

Pioneering personalised nutrition in neurocritical care

Fresenius Kabi and ESICM continued their joint commitment to nutrition research through the ESICM-Fresenius Kabi Medical Nutrition Grant. The grant supports research that could strengthen nutritional care and improve outcomes for critically and chronically ill patients.

The 2026 grant supports research into a major challenge in neuro-intensive care: understanding how patients’ nutritional needs change throughout serious illness and recovery. It was awarded to Dr. Stefano Marelli, a critical care physician and neuro-intensive care researcher at ASST Niguarda Great Metropolitan Hospital in Milan, Italy, for his project, ‘NeuroNutriTraj – Prospective Observational Study of Longitudinal Hormonal, Metabolic, Inflammatory and Nutritional Trajectories in NeuroICU Patients’.

For patients receiving intensive care after a serious brain injury, getting nutrition right remains a major challenge. Their nutritional needs may change throughout their illness and recovery, and a standard approach may not be suitable for every patient.

Dr. Marelli’s research aims to better understand the nutritional status and responses of patients in neuro-intensive care, studying how the body responds to illness and nutrition. The project will provide an initial map of how nutrition needs may change. This will help to guide future research on improved nutritional care and thus help patients return to their everyday lives with more independence and wellbeing.

’Every patient deserves the best possible chance to recover. By learning more about how patients respond to nutritional therapy during neurocritical illness, we hope to generate insights that can one day improve care and make a meaningful difference to patients’ lives.’, outlined Dr. Marelli.

Find out more about the ESICM–Fresenius Kabi Medical Nutrition Grant at www.nutritionevents.com.

Two professors stand alongside the recipient of a research grant award and Dr. Anke Wenn during an award ceremony on stage. The grant recipient holds a certificate, with conference branding and healthcare-themed graphics visible in the background.

From left to right: Prof. Jan De Waele, ESICM Congress President , Belgium, Dr. Stefano Marelli, Research Grant Winner 2026, Italy, Dr. Anke Wenn, Fresenius Kabi, Prof. John Laffey, Chair ESICM Research Committee.

Turning nutrition knowledge into practice in critical care settings

Fresenius Kabi also supports medical nutrition fellowships along three European centers to provide healthcare professionals key aspects of nutritional and metabolic care for critically ill patients. These fellowships run along the ESICM eCourse on nutrition in critical illness, supporting 15 highly engaged participants.

The fellows come from a range of countries across Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Through bedside teaching, discussion and mentoring at internationally recognized academic health centers, fellows learn from leading experts and gain practical experience in managing medical nutrition in critical care.

Graphic showing three fellowship partner institutions in Europe. Belgium: University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, with tutors Michael Casaer and Jan Gunst. Sweden: Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, with tutors Olav Rooyackers and Martin Sundström Rehal. Germany: Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, with tutors Andreas Edel and Julius Grunow. Each institution is displayed in a separate panel alongside the national flag.

Overview fellowship centres

“Everything was excellent. The best aspects were the quality and availability of the supervisors, the opportunity to learn from a wide variety of clinical cases, the enriching discussions, and the journal club sessions.” – Fellow, UZ Leuven, August 2026

Fresenius Kabi’s activities around medical nutrition at LIVES 2026 and its wider educational initiatives, including the critical care nutrition fellowships, reflect an ongoing commitment within the Fresenius Group to supporting research and medical training – with the shared goal of helping healthcare professionals provide better care for patients. For us, #FutureFresenius also means helping generate the knowledge that can support better, more personalized care for patients in the future.