Research

The Planetary Health community spans across research groups at the faculty of Veterinary Medicine, faculty of Medicine, faculty of Science and the faculty of Geosciences. Three examples of our large research program are:

Exposome

We are forerunners in the rapidly growing field of the exposome: the collective name for environmental influences on health. Gathering huge datasets to map and better understand population health. At the fundamental level, we investigate the life and health of plants, to better understand climate and disease resilience and to ensure healthy crops for future generation. Using modern plant biology in combination with Artificial Intelligence (AI) we are learning to harness the resilience of plants. Better understanding health allows us to stay healthy and prevent disease, fighting the causes rather than the symptoms.

Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC)

Plants are absolutely essential to our future, where almost all our food, feed and materials will be derived from plants. Our aim is to enable the development of novel adaptive crops and cropping systems required for future food production and food security without destroying our planet. Our plant phenotyping facilities thus will help to meet the world’s future needs in terms of food and material security: one of the most exciting endeavors for the future.

NPEC will enable you to make accurate, high-throughput studies of plant performance possible in relation to relevant biotic (microbiome interactions, competition, disease) and abiotic (light quantity and quality, nutrients, temperature, moisture, soil pH and atmospheric CO2 level) factors across a range of scales.

NPEC is a joint initiative of Wageningen University & Research and Utrecht University. This integrated, national research facility is housed by Wageningen University & Research and Utrecht University and is co-funded by The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

The Netherlands Centre for One Health (NCOH)

NCOH is a national alliance initiated by Utrecht University and launched in 2016 with the aim to find solutions to Global One Health Challenges, such as outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. As the causes and possible solutions also include components of healthy farming and healthy wildlife and ecosystems, a One Health approach is required to solve these major societal challenges.

There are 88 countries with a population of more than 10 million. Of those, The Netherlands is the 5th smallest in land mass, ranks 4th in highest in density population, and is the world’s 2nd greatest exporter of food and agricultural products. Integrating environment and human and animal health under the One Health program is a top priority.

Many microbes infect both humans and animals and share the same ecosystems, creating a circular transfer of disease-causing agents. Well-known outbreaks, such as Ebola, influenza (flu), and Zika virus are examples of how closely interconnected we are with our environment. One Health emphasizes the connections between these sectors, and calls for a sustained, integrated approach in order to improve health conditions and health care across the globe.

Given the intimate relationship between animal and human health and the environment, the joint research programs of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Faculty of Science and UMC Utrecht constitute a unique centre of excellence for One Health. In collaboration with our public and private partners, we focus on the prevention of and fight against existing and emerging infectious diseases – both in humans and animals – including zoonoses and food safety pathogens, on the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance and on overcoming environmental risks.