Nutrition and Health: Micronutrients

Dr. Alida Melse-Boonstra serves as an Associate Professor at the Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University & Research, where she has built an impressive career since completing her MSc and PhD from the same institution in 1997 and 2003 respectively. Her research focuses on developing sustainable solutions for micronutrient malnutrition in low and middle-income countries, with particular emphasis on vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc deficiencies among vulnerable populations including pregnant women, infants, children, and adolescents

Dr. Inge D. Brouwer serves as Professor at the Division of Human Nutrition and Health at Wageningen University & Research, where she has established herself as a prominent researcher in improving dietary quality in low and middle-income countries. Her research focuses on enhancing nutrition for women and children through agricultural and food systems approaches, particularly addressing undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. As leader of the Flagship Food Systems for Healthier Diets under the CGIAR-funded Agriculture for Nutrition and Health research programme, she guides transformations of food systems toward healthier diets for poor populations in collaboration with international organizations across Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ethiopia. Her work has significantly impacted understanding of iron absorption, vitamin A biofortification, and dietary diversification in developing countries, as demonstrated through her research on biofortified cassava in Kenya and iron absorption from traditional foods in West Africa. She has secured substantial research funding from national programs, EU Framework Programmes, and food industries, while contributing to the development of diet quality indices for research in low and middle-income countries. Through her involvement in the Professional Certificate Programme in Food, Nutrition and Health and the MOOC on Micronutrients and Malnutrition, she continues to shape global understanding of nutrition interventions while working toward sustainable and equitable food systems for healthier diets worldwide.

Dr. Guido Hooiveld is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University, where he has built an impressive career investigating molecular aspects of nutrition and metabolism. After graduating in Molecular Sciences from Wageningen University in 1995, he completed his PhD at the University of Groningen in 2000, focusing on P-glycoprotein and hepatobiliary secretion. Following postdoctoral research on hepatic ABC transporters at the Laboratory of Pediatrics in Groningen, he joined Wageningen University's Nutrition, Metabolism & Genomics Group in 2001, becoming Assistant Professor in 2006.