Anne van der Geest

Anne van der Geest is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, affiliated with the Athena Institute, Amsterdam Sustainability Institute, and Network Institute. Her work focuses on societal entrepreneurship and innovations at the intersection of food and pharmaceutical systems. She holds a PhD in probiotics research, with emphasis on healthcare professional practices in primary care.

Education: PhD in Probiotics (focus on healthcare adoption), postdoctoral research in societal entrepreneurship.

Research interests include probiotic applications, clinical trial methodologies, and sustainable healthcare innovations. Her work contributes to UN SDGs related to health and sustainable systems.

Recent research highlights meta-analyses comparing probiotics with pharmaceuticals for IBS, safety reporting in clinical trials, and user experiences with probiotic supplementation.

Affiliated with interdisciplinary research institutes addressing sustainability and network science.