The world’s first integrated microbiome innovation network has officially launched. Founded at Amsterdam Science Park and backed by €200 million from the Dutch National Growth Fund, the Holomicrobiome Innovation Institute brings together scientists, companies and policymakers to translate microbiome research into real-world applications, from sustainable agriculture to human health and the circular economy.
Microbiomes, the communities of billions of bacteria, fungi and viruses found in soil, water, plants, animals and the human body, are increasingly recognised as a key lever for addressing major societal challenges. Understanding how these microbial communities function, and how they can be influenced, opens pathways to reducing CO₂ emissions in agriculture, improving water quality, restoring biodiversity and developing new approaches to human health.
The Holomicrobiome Innovation Institute takes a distinctively integrated approach: rather than studying individual microbiomes in isolation, it investigates the relationships between soil, plant, animal and human microbiomes as a connected whole. This systems-level perspective is what sets the initiative apart internationally.
The institute was initiated by Prof. Marten P. Smidt and colleagues at the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS), part of the University of Amsterdam and a longstanding member of the Amsterdam Science Park research community. The official launch took place on 27 May at the ARTIS Planetarium, with State Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature Silvio Erkens performing the opening.
The institute brings together eleven Dutch universities, all seven university medical centres, universities of applied sciences, research institutes and a broad range of industry partners including FrieslandCampina, Winclove Probiotics, TNO and Arla Foods. It is a public-private initiative in the full sense: knowledge institutions, government and industry co-developing the next generation of microbiome applications.
New developments in AI and data science are expected to play a significant role in accelerating the institute’s research agenda. The scale and complexity of microbiome systems across species, environments and disease contexts, make them well-suited to data-driven analysis and machine learning approaches. This positions the Holomicrobiome Innovation Institute at an intersection that Amsterdam Science Park’s research community is well placed to support, with expertise in AI, data-driven science and life sciences concentrated on the park.
Photocredits: Rinze Vegelien
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