Published: June 2026
Author: Dr. Sandra Einerhand, Founder & Head of Einerhand Science & Innovation (ESI4U)
As ILSI Europe Celebrates 40 Years, What Will Shape the Next 40?
In June, experts from academia, industry, regulatory bodies, and healthcare will gather in ILSI Europe‘s 40th Anniversary Symposium in Brussels to discuss some of the most pressing challenges facing food, nutrition, and sustainability.
Having contributed to multiple ILSI task forces throughout my career, first at Tate & Lyle, later at Danone Nutricia Research, and today through work on postbiotics and early-life nutrition, this milestone event feels particularly meaningful.
What makes ILSI unique is its long-standing commitment to bringing together scientists from different disciplines and sectors to build evidence-based consensus on complex nutrition and health challenges. In an era where nutrition science is becoming increasingly personalized, data-driven, and interdisciplinary, that mission is more relevant than ever.
Four Scientific Themes That Could Shape the Future of Nutrition
1. First Bites, Future Health: Early Nutrition and Cognitive Development
The symposium revisits the pioneering work of the Early Nutrition & Long-Term Health Task Force and explores one of the most exciting questions in nutrition science:
How does nutrition during infancy influence cognitive development throughout childhood and adolescence?
Growing evidence suggests that nutritional exposures during the first 1,000 days of life may have lasting impacts on brain development, learning capacity, immune function, and metabolic health.
For those working in:
- Infant nutrition
- Human milk research
- HMOs and postbiotics
- Cognitive health
- Developmental programming
this remains one of the most promising areas of future innovation.
2. Decoding the Microbiome: From Correlation to Mechanism
Microbiome science continues to evolve rapidly.
This session focuses on:
- Microbiome-host interactions
- Machine learning applications in microbiome research
- Metabolic regulation pathways
- GLP-1-related mechanisms
- Translation of microbiome science into health solutions
The field is moving beyond simply describing microbial communities toward understanding how specific microbial functions influence health outcomes.
For ingredient suppliers, food companies, and healthcare innovators, this transition from association to causality will be critical for future product development and substantiation strategies.
3. Healthy Ageing in a Changing Food System
Europe’s aging population presents both societal challenges and innovation opportunities.
Topics include:
- Protein requirements during ageing
- Plant protein innovation
- Gut-brain axis biomarkers
- Digital health technologies
- Wearables for personalised nutrition
One particularly interesting trend is the growing focus on maintaining independence, mobility, cognitive function, and quality of life rather than merely extending lifespan.
This aligns closely with consumer insights showing that healthy aging consumers are primarily motivated by preserving daily function and well-being.
4. Dietary Carbohydrates and Glycaemic Science
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has transformed our understanding of metabolic responses.
The symposium explores:
- Glycaemic science
- Personalised nutrition
- Continuous glucose monitoring
- Healthy ageing biomarkers
- Digital health integration
The field is increasingly moving away from population averages toward individualized nutritional strategies.
As wearable technologies become more sophisticated, nutrition recommendations may become increasingly tailored to an individual’s biology, lifestyle, microbiome, and metabolic profile.
Why Collaborative Science Matters More Than Ever
Nutrition science today sits at the intersection of:
- Biology
- Data science
- Artificial intelligence
- Consumer behaviour
- Regulatory science
- Sustainability
No single organization can address these challenges alone.
The collaborative model championed by ILSI Europe for four decades remains one of the most effective ways to generate robust scientific consensus and identify future research priorities.
As someone who has worked across academia, multinational food companies, ingredient suppliers, start-ups, and consultancy, I continue to see tremendous value in bringing diverse expertise together around shared scientific questions.
Looking Forward to Brussels
I am looking forward to reconnecting with former colleagues from academia and industry, meeting new experts, and discussing the future of:
- Early-life nutrition
- Postbiotics
- Microbiome science
- Healthy ageing
- Personalised nutrition
If you will be attending the symposium in Brussels on 15–16 June, I would be delighted to connect.
About the Author
Dr. Sandra Einerhand is the founder and head of Einerhand Science & Innovation (ESI4U), an award-winning consultancy specializing in nutrition science, health benefit substantiation, regulatory strategy, microbiome science, infant nutrition, healthy aging, biotics, alternative proteins, and food innovation.
In two weeks I’ll be in Brussels for this ILSI Europe Symposium (15–16 June 2026), marking the institute’s 40th anniversary. Having spent years inside ILSI task forces, first with Tate & Lyle, then Danone Nutricia, and today on early-life postbiotics, this one feels personal.
Three threads on the program caught my eye:
1. The “First Bites, Future Health” session revisits the Early Nutrition & Long-Term Health Task Force and asks where the field goes next with a sharp focus on cognitive development from infancy to adolescence.
2. “Decoding the Microbiome,” highlighting progress in elucidating microbiome–host interactions and their health relevance. It is showcasing emerging topics in microbiome research, like the optimisation of machine learning approaches for microbiome studies and the evolving role of the microbiome in metabolic regulation, with a particular focus on GLP-1–related pathways
3. “Healthy Ageing in a Changing Food System,” focusing on protein needs and the plant-protein transition, gut–brain-axis biomarkers, and wearables for personalized aging.
4. “Dietary Carbohydrates and Glycaemic Science: From glycaemic science and continuous glucose monitoring to healthy-ageing biomarkers and wearables, the move from population averages to individual strategies is no longer aspirational.
What ties it together is ILSI’s founding idea: credible, collaborative, science-based consensus that industry and academia can actually build on. After 40 years, that matters more than ever. Looking forward to reconnecting with former academic and industry colleagues and meeting new ones. If you’ll be there, let’s connect.
See the detailed program here: https://lnkd.in/eu_PRQbH