“The exposome is the missing link between gene and health.”

Roel Vermeulen is Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Exposome Science at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University. He holds an adjunct professor position at the Julius Center, Department Public Health Healthcare Innovation and Medical Humanities (UMC Utrecht) and a Visiting Professorship at Imperial College London, UK. Vermeulen has been appointed Distinguished University Professor at Utrecht University as of 15 July 2024.

Since 2024 Vermeulen is Scientific Director of the Institute for Preventive Health (i4PH) of the EWUU alliance of the universities of Eindhoven Wageningen (WUR) , Utrecht and UMC Utrecht. He chairs the planetary health community of Utrecht Life Sciences.

Vermeulen coordinates the Dutch research program on the exposome (Exposome-NL), leads an EU project (EXPANSE) as part of the European Human Exposome Network, coordinates the Dutch Hub of the European infrastructure on Exposome research (EIRENE-NL), co-coordinates the International Human Exposome Network (IHEN) and coordinates an EU project on micro- and nanoplastics (AURORA). He is the Principal Investigator of several large case-control and prospective (biobank) studies in occupational and the general population.

Vermeulen has served on many international committees including the World Health Organization and the National Toxicoloy Program in the USA. He was a member of the Dutch Health Council for over 12 years and has authored/co-authored over 800 academic publications.

Research focus: environmental risk assessment

Vermeulen’s scientific research focuses on environmental risk factors for non-communicable diseases, with a strong emphasis on integrating epidemiology, high-quality exposure/exposome assessment and molecular biology into multidisciplinary investigations in order to:?

• Identify new risks, clarify exposure-response relationships, and effect modification by individual susceptibility, and elucidate underlying mechanisms of disease;?
• Implement and evaluate interventions in real-world settings.

With his studies in these areas Vermeulen highlights the limitations in current exposure and epidemiological approaches, and the critical need for developing new methods to quantify the external and internal exposome through use of high-resolution exposure monitoring and omics signatures.

On Friday 26 March 2021, Roel Vermeulen had an absolute first in the 385-year history of Utrecht University: a Dies Natalis address given while cycling. Vermeulen highlights how collaborative research adds value to our healthy living environment. Curious about his whole story? Watch it on the UU YouTube channel.