ESAP-Nutres is a collaboration between the Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, the Netherlands (P1), the Eidgenossische Technische Hochshule (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland (P2), and the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa (P3). The overall aim is to build up and extend long lasting collaboration between partners as a basis for investigating the causes, consequences and solutions of malnutrition in developing countries. Apart from nutrient inadequacy, this also includes the prevention of obesity and related disorders since prevalence is increasing rapidly in developing countries. A solid basis for long lasting collaboration is already present in the form of two joint PhD projects that are in the starting up phase, involving each of the partners to a certain extent. The proposed exchange programme is focused on researchers that are at the begining of their carreers and includes PhD students as well as postdocs, with ample support from senior staff. The expertise of the three partners is highly complementary, and the synergism lies in a combination of expertise on nutrient bioavailability (P1, P2), nutrient interactions (P2, P3) nutrient-gene interactions and epigenetics (P1, P3). This will result in exploiting the effects of malnutrition both at the functional and at the physiological level, making use of state-to-the-art nutrigenomic tools. The exchange programme will enable the two European partners to strengthen their leading role in international nutrition research focused on finding sustainable solutions for malnutrition in developing countries. It will also support the South African partner to continue its development in a regional leading research and educational institute in nutrition science, thereby having a large impact in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.