Engy › Who's who in longevity › Matthias Van Hul
At a glance
- Researcher at the Louvain Drug Research Institute, UCLouvain, and at WELBIO, in Patrice Cani’s team.
- Studies how gut bacteria affect metabolism, body weight and inflammation, and which bacteria can be considered ‘beneficial’.
- Contributed to the discovery and characterisation of Dysosmobacter, a gut bacterium linked to healthier metabolism and studied as a potential ‘next-generation’ probiotic.
- Co-authored the widely read review ‘What defines a healthy gut microbiome?’ (Gut, 2024), which shows how hard it is to define ‘healthy’ in a single way.
- Has also published on the crosstalk between gut microbes and fat tissue in obesity, and on the gap between microbiome research and clinical use (Cell Metabolism, 2025).
- Relevant because the microbiome is a popular longevity topic; his work helps separate what is proven from what is still promise.
Recent
- Study Dysosmobacter: from a serendipitous discovery to a next-generation beneficial gut commensal linked to health
- Study From microbiome to metabolism: Bridging a two-decade translational gap
- Study What defines a healthy gut microbiome?
- Study Role of the intestinal microbiota in contributing to weight disorders and associated comorbidities
- Study Gut microbiota in overweight and obesity: crosstalk with adipose tissue