Dr. Houbraken is group leader of the department Food and Indoor Mycology at the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute (WI) in Utrecht, the Netherlands. He graduated in food microbiology and his interest in food mycology and fungal systematics was evoked during his first years at WI. In 2013, he obtained his Ph.D. in Mycology at the Utrecht University. Dr. Houbraken is chair of the International Commission on Food Mycology (ICFM), and member of the International Commission on Penicillium and Aspergillus (ICPA) and the foundation FoodMicro. He is (scientific) editor of Studies in Mycology, Medical Mycology and Mycobiology and (co-)authored >180 papers in peer-reviewed journals. His research is centred on three themes: 1) polyphasic taxonomy of food associated fungi (e.g. Penicillium, Aspergillus), and the translation of these data into novel, rapid tools for identification and detection, 2) fundamental research on the topic of cell stress and antimicrobial (preservative) resistance, with the aim to find novel solutions to prevent of food spoilage, and 3) applied (tailor-made) projects for industry on various issues, varying from prevention of food spoilage, development of (rapid) identification tools and biodeterioration testing.
More info: https://wi.knaw.nl/page/Houbraken_group