Rate My Professor Jeroen Douwes

Jeroen Douwes is Professor of Public Health and Director of Massey University’s Centre for Public Health Research within the College of Health. He obtained his MSc in environmental epidemiology from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, in 1991, and his PhD in environmental epidemiology from the same institution in 1998. After moving to New Zealand in 1998, he has established himself as a leading figure in public health research at Massey University. He directs a comprehensive HRC-funded programme grant involving three randomised controlled trials aimed at reducing occupational disease, as well as a Marsden-funded research programme on biodiversity, environmental and human microbiota, and respiratory health. As Principal Investigator, he oversees several HRC studies examining environmental exposures, underlying mechanisms, and childhood asthma and other chronic conditions. Additionally, he leads the New Zealand component of two EU-funded international consortia focused on the pathophysiological mechanisms of non-eosinophilic asthma. He is also a Principal Investigator for the Infectious Disease Research Centre at Massey University and director of a $5.6 million HRC programme on occupational health addressing causes of motor neuron disease, congenital malformations, asthma, and neuropsychological disorders.

Douwes specializes in epidemiology, public health, respiratory health, allergies, occupational and environmental health, and exposure assessment, bridging public health and biomedical sciences. He has authored more than 255 peer-reviewed publications, with a Google Scholar H-index of 73 and a Scopus H-index of 61. Selected key publications include 'Does environmental endotoxin exposure prevent asthma?' (Thorax, 2002), '(1→3)-β-D-glucans and respiratory health: A review of the scientific evidence' (Indoor Air, 2005), 'Pine dust, atopy and lung function: A cross-sectional study in sawmill workers' (European Respiratory Journal, 2006), and recent contributions such as 'Risk factors for atopic and non-atopic asthma in school-age children from high-income and low- and middle-income countries' (Thorax, 2025) and 'Case–Control Study of Congenital Anomalies: Study Methods and Nonresponse Bias Assessment' (Birth Defects Research, 2025). He received the 2018 College of Health Research Award for outstanding contributions to health research. Douwes holds positions as Deputy Chair of the Health Research Council board and Chair of its Public Health Research Committee, and served on the Environmental Protection Authority board from 2018 to 2023. He is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.