معرفی
Roel Vermeulen is Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Exposome Science at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) at Utrecht University. As of July 15, 2024, he has been appointed Distinguished University Professor at Utrecht University with a focus on planetary and preventive health. He serves as Scientific Director of the Institute for Preventive Health (i4PH) of the EWUU Alliance and chairs the planetary health community of Utrecht Life Sciences.
Vermeulen's research focuses on environmental risk factors for non-communicable diseases, integrating epidemiology, high-quality exposure/exposome assessment, and molecular biology. His work aims to identify new risks, clarify exposure-response relationships, and elucidate underlying disease mechanisms. He pioneered the field of exposome research more than 10 years ago, recognizing that non-genetic factors explain approximately 70% of chronic disease burden. His research spans air quality, microplastics, occupational exposures, and planetary health systems.
- Distinguished University Professor at Utrecht University (2024)
- Coordinator of Exposome-NL (NWO Gravitation program)
- Leadership of European Human Exposome Network projects
- Scientific Director of Institute for Preventive Health (i4PH)
Vermeulen coordinates large-scale national and international projects including Exposome-NL, the Dutch research program on the exposome, and leads the EU project EXPANSE as part of the European Human Exposome Network. He has established the Data and Knowledge Hub Healthy Urban Living to facilitate quadruple helix collaboration on healthy living environments and has dedicated his career to establishing research resources and open infrastructures. His work has directly impacted regulations concerning benzene, formaldehyde, diesel exhaust, and air pollution affecting millions globally.
He leads the Planetary Health Research Group at the Julius Center of UMC Utrecht and is scientific director of the Data and Knowledge Hub Healthy Urban Living (DKH-GSL), an independent platform of public and private organizations working together on healthy living solutions across more than 30 countries.
