Environmental Health

How do environmental factors affect human health? What molecular and cellular mechanisms are at the basis of thesedisorders and what is the role of genetic disposition in this?Which new preventative and therapeutic strategies can be derived from this?

These are key questions within this research programme. The research focuses on common diseases such as inflammations of the respiratory tract, allergies and cancer, the development of which is substantially influenced by environmental toxins such as particulate air-borne pollutants (aerosols), chemicals and ionising radiation. On the one hand, toxic pollutants are researched as well as the corresponding mechanisms triggering diseases with the aim of developing strategies for risk evaluation and reduction. On the other hand, mechanisms of disease genesis of above mentioned diseases are researched to evaluate the role played here by environmental factors. Another emphasis is on basic research on chemical modifications of genetic material.