Ruurd van Elburg studies the effects of nutrition, focusing in particular on the first 1,000 days, which spans the period from conception to two years after birth. To a significant extent, these first 1,000 days determine how healthy we are in later life. Van Elburg will be researching both the short and long-term effects of nutrition, conducting preclinical studies at the AMC-UvA's Tytgat Institute as part of the University's Gastroenterology & Metabolism research theme, and clinical research at the Emma children's hospital as part of the Reproduction & Development research theme.

Van Elburg has been chief scientific officer at Nutricia Research in Utrecht since 2011, where he is in charge of the clinical and medical evaluation of the Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition scientific research programme. He is also associate professor of Paediatrics at VU University Amsterdam Medical Center (VUmc) and a guest researcher at Utrecht University. From 1998 until 2011 he worked at the VUmc as a paediatrician-neonatologist, combining clinical care with scientific research and teaching.

As a teacher, Van Elburg has been active at the non-profit foundation for paediatric emergency care, Stichting Spoedeisende Hulp bij Kinderen, for 15 years now, where he is an instructor and course leader for the foundation's European training programmes in subjects including Newborn Life Support and Generic Instructor Course. He was also amongst the first of VUmc's teaching staff to obtain the national University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) certification.

Van Elburg has published extensively in professional journals in the fields of nutrition, gastroenterology and paediatrics, including in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Gut, Pediatrics and Journal of Pediatrics. He is the recipient of a NESPEN (Netherlands Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition) Award and of a Travel Award from the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.