Prof Dr. Fred Brouns obtained a PhD in Nutritional Physiology at the Maastricht University in the Netherlands on the Topic “Food and Fluid Related Aspects in Highly Trained athletes” For this work which included many aspects of hydration and energy supply to dehydrated athletes, he was awarded with the Netherlands Sports Medicine Award

He has >25 years experience in the field of life sciences and health nutrition. He joined Wander Dietetics in the Netherlands in 1980 as head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Consumer Information. Later, in 1988 he joined Sandoz Nutrition ltd. in Switzerland in the function of Nutrition Research Manager, where he developed the Isostar Sports Nutrition concepts and initiated/chaired the Isostar Sports Nutrition Foundation from 1992 until 1999.  From 1992 – 1999 he was head of the Novartis Nutrition Research Unit with a focus on functional foods research in particular related to heart health, overweight/diabetes, mental performance, bone health and sports nutrition. 

He joined Eridania Beghin-Say and Cerestar, vilvoorde, Belgium in 1999, for the Global Health & Nutrition Group, followed by a position as Research Fellow and Senior Advisor Nutritional Sciences at the Cargill R&D Center, Vilvoorde, Belgium with a strong focus on fibers, prebiotics and gut health. As chair of the Carbohydrates Committee and v Pilot of various expert panels he fulfilled positions at the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Europe. As well as at IDACE, Paris, expert panels:  a) infant nutrition, b) sports nutrition , c) functional foods.

Today he is MSc. Program leader “Health Food Innovation Management” at the Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute, Dep. of Human Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.  His current research interests focus especially aspects of sugars and sweeteners, obesity, diabetes, gut health and nutrition and exercise. He has published extensively, both scientifically and in popular journals and books and is a global speaker in the field of Life Sciences and Nutrition. He fulfilled various chairmanships in industrial and academic organizations such as ILSI Europe, Brussels and IDACE, Paris. He obtained fellowships of the American College of Sports Medicine and the European College of Sports Sciences and is an invited member of the British Nutrition Society. He is a registered Biomedical Researcher and Board member of the Dutch Academy of Food Science.