prof. dr. G.F. Houben
prof. dr. G.F. Houben
- Center for Translational Immunology (CTI) Research
Research Programs
Biography
Biography
Geert Houben is Principal Scientist Food Allergy and Immunotoxicology at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO, a public law-regulated research and technology organization in the Netherlands. Additionally, he is Professor Food-borne Risk Factors for Allergic and Inflammatory Diseases at the University Medical Center Utrecht and the Faculty of Medicine of the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Prior to his current positions, he has had various research and management positions at TNO and various research positions at the Utrecht University and the University Medical Center Utrecht. Geert has had the managerial and scientific responsibility for the TNO Food Safety research and services for many years prior to choosing to focus on his scientific career since 2014. Geert was trained as a Biologist and Toxicologist and did his PhD in food immunotoxicology.
Geert’s major scientific specializations are food allergy, food and feed toxicology and immunotoxicology, and particularly risk assessment in these areas. In the early years of this century, he was the first to pioneer in the development and application of probabilistic risk assessment principles in food allergy and his team has been world leading in this area since then. His team hosts the world-wide most complete database with over 3500 threshold datapoints from individual food allergy patients (database jointly owned with the Food Allergy Research and Resources Program (FARRP) of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA) and has been developing and validating food intake databases specifically attuned to the application to food allergy risk assessment. TNO also led the risk assessment and risk management work package of the EU iFAAM project. Another research topic is on the assessment of allergenicity of (novel) food proteins. TNO initiated and chaired the EU Cost Action ImpARAS on this topic and developed a strategy and a machine learning algorithm to assess the allergenicity of (novel) food proteins. A last focus area is on the role of the exposome in inflammatory processes, in particular the development and application of approaches to identify and characterize food-borne risk factors for allergic and inflammatory diseases.
Geert Houben is or was a member of tens of expert groups, advisory boards and committees in the area of toxicology, food safety, immunotoxicology and food allergy. Among others, he was a member of the WHO/IPCS Expert Group for the harmonized guidance development for Immunotoxicity Risk Assessment and the 2020-2023 Ad hoc Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Food Allergens. Geert Houben is dedicated to further support the development, application and international harmonization of quantitative approaches in food allergy risk assessment and management and the development of diet-derived interventions in inflammatory diseases.
Side Activities
2023-present Deputy Member of the Board of Future Food Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
2022-present Member of the Board of Examiners of the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2022-present Member of the Expert Group "Can we define criteria for Unintended Allergen Presence that is compatible with the use of Precautionary Allergen Labelling and risk communication of such labelling", ILSI Europe, Brussels, Belgium
2020-present Expert for the Ad hoc Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Food Allergens, FAO/WHO, Rome, Italy
2019-present Member of the Expert Group "Allergenicity Assessment of Novel Ingredients Containing Protein & Protein Sources", ILSI Europe, Brussels, Belgium
2016-present Member of the FrieslandCampina Corporate Food Safety Advisory board
2015-present Member of the Scientific Working Group on Food Safety of the European Technology Platform “Food for Life”
2011-present Member of the VITAL Scientific Expert Panel of the Australian-New Zealand Allergen Bureau, Australia
2009-present Member of the Allergens Expert Group, Food and Drink Europe, Brussels, Belgium.
2018-2020 Deputy Member of the Future Food Utrecht Program Council, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2017-2020 Member of the Expert Group "A framework to help define an appropriate level of protection for consumers with food allergies ", ILSI Europe, Brussels, Belgium
2019 Member of the Expert Committee Immune Effects of Chromium-6, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
2019 Member of the Assessment Committee for proposals for the Future Food Utrecht Seed Money Research projects Call, October-November 2019
2008-2019 Member of the Supervisory Board of the Post Graduate Education in Toxicology, The Netherlands
2018 Jury Member for the assessment of proposals for the NWO Open Technology Program, October-November 2018
2018 Member of the Assessment Committee for proposals for the Future Food Utrecht Seed Money Research projects Call, October-November 2018
2017-2018 Member of the Roadmap Committee Theme Food Safety, Topsector Agri&Food, the Netherlands
2015-2017 Member of the Shanghai FDA Foreign Food Safety Expert Advisory Panel, Shanghai, China
2012-2017 Theme-coordinator Food Safety, Topsector Agri&Food, the Netherlands
2008-2017 Member and from 2012 until 2017 Chairman of the Advisory Board for allergens and food hypersensitivity, The Netherlands Nutrition Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands
Research Output (102)
Linders Yvette F.M., Lentz Leo R., Blom W. Marty, Michelsen-Huisman Anouska, Strikwerda Jelle, van Dijk Liselotte M., Knulst André C., Houben Geert F., van Os-Medendorp Harmieke, Holleman Bregje C. May 2023, In: Food Control. 147 , p. 1-10 10 p.
Smits Mark, Verhoeckx Kitty, Knulst André, Welsing Paco, de Jong Aard, Gaspari Marco, Ehlers Anna, Verhoeff Paulien, Houben Geert, Le Thuy My 2023, In: Frontiers in allergy. 4
Versluis Astrid, Le Thuy-My, Houben Geert F, Knulst André C, Van Os-Medendorp Harmieke 2023, In: Frontiers in allergy. 4
Turner Paul J., Patel Nandinee, Campbell Dianne E., Sampson Hugh A., Maeda Mayu, Katsunuma Toshio, Westerhout Joost, Blom W. Marty, Baumert Joseph L., Houben Geert F., Remington Benjamin C. Nov 2022, In: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 150 , p. 1135-1143.e8
Turner Paul J., Gretzinger Magdalena, Patel Nandinee, Brough Helen A., Chinthrajah R. Sharon, Ebisawa Motohiro, Elizur Arnon, Koplin Jennifer J., Peters Rachel L., Purington Natasha, Nowak-Wegrzyn Anna, Saf Sarah, Sampson Hugh A., Westerhout Joost, Blom W. Marty, Baumert Joseph L., Houben Geert F., Remington Benjamin C. Oct 2022, In: Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 77 , p. 3124-3162 39 p.
Blom W. Marty, Westerhout Joost, Baumert Joseph L., Meima Marie Y., Turner Paul J., Ebisawa Motohiro, Yanagida Noriyuki, Remington Benjamin C., Houben Geert F. Oct 2022, In: Food and Chemical Toxicology. 168
Turner Paul J., Baumert Joseph L., Beyer Kirsten, Brooke-Taylor Simon, Comberiati Pasquale, Crevel René W.R., Gerdts Jennifer D., Hazel Gowland M., Houben Geert F., Hourihane Jonathan O.B., Konstantinou George N., La Vieille Sébastien, Moya Beatriz, Muraro Antonella, Mills E. N.Clare, Patel Nandinee, Podestà Marcia, Popping Bert, Reese Imke, Roberts Graham, Said Maria, Santos Alexandra F., Schnadt Sabine, Taylor Steve L., Vlieg-Boerstra Berber, Remington Benjamin C., Jun 2022, In: Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 77 , p. 1661-1666 6 p.
Versluis Astrid, Le Thuy My, Erp Francine C.van, Blankestijn Mark A., Houben Geert F., Knulst André C., Os- Medendorp Harmieke van Feb 2022, In: Clinical and Translational Allergy. 12 , p. 1-9
Houben Geert, Blom W. Marty, Meijerink Marjolein 2022, p. 697-719 23 p.
Taylor Steve L., Houben Geert F., Blom W. Marty, Westerhout Joost, Remington Benjamin C., Crevel Rene W.R., Brooke-Taylor Simon, Baumert Joe L. Jun 2021, In: Trends in Food Science and Technology. 112 , p. 99-108 10 p.