Jos Houbraken Email & Phone Number

Specialties: Food Mycology, Indoor Mycology, Aspergillus and Penicillium taxonomyI'm leading the Food and Indoor research group at the Westerdijk Institute and the mission of my group is to generate and apply knowledge of food, indoor and industrially relevant fungi. The activities of the group are centred on three themes:1) Taxonomy and biodiversity: Polyphasic taxonomic research on Penicillium, Talaromyces, Aspergillus and related genera using various techniques, e.g. macro- and microscopy, extrolite analysis and genomics. These data is translated into rapid identification and detection tools/methods, such as MALDI-TOF MS, wgMLST typing schemes and qPCR detection methods. 2) Food and indoor mycology: To understand the biology of food and indoor fungi, the fungal cell is studied, in particular on the topic of cell stress and antimicrobial resistance. These data is is applied to find novel solutions for prevention of food spoilage and fungal growth in the harsh indoor environment.3) Applied projects for industry and government: Tailor-made projects for a diversity of clients (government, industrial, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and commercial sectors) are performed on various issues, varying from prevention of food spoilage, development of (rapid) identification tools and biodeterioration testing. Besides the research activities, I organize the course “Food and Indoor Fungi” (Utrecht, the Netherlands) and various tailor made course for various industries. The research group is also involved in teaching as part of other courses, e.g. for Utrecht University, Radboud University, Wageningen University & Research, KU Leuven.

Listed skills include Mycology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Pcr, and 14 others.