Environmental Health Center, Helmholtz Munich

The Environmental Health Center (EHC) is dedicated to combating diseases caused by environmental factors, such as allergies, asthma, and chronic lung diseases, with the primary goal on prevention. Where prevention is not possible, we aim to advance medicine and develop innovative treatments by understanding the underlying mechanisms and translating these into novel drugs.

The Environmental Health Center (EHC) is dedicated to combating diseases caused by environmental factors, such as allergies, asthma, and chronic lung diseases, with the primary goal of prevention. Where prevention is not possible, we aim to advance medicine and develop innovative treatments by understanding the underlying mechanisms and translating these into novel drugs.

A conceptual image showing a lung-shaped lake in a lush and pristine jungle

A key strength of our research is the comprehensive interdisciplinary approach. Epidemiology identifies the relevant exposures for individual diseases. We then investigate the molecular basis of disease development and identify key mechanisms. Finally, we translate our findings into prevention and novel therapies.

Climate and Health

Heat – When Temperature Impacts Health

Driven by climate change, heatwaves are becoming increasingly frequent and prolonged in Germany. Especially for older adults, children, and people with pre-existing conditions, extreme heat can pose a health risk.

Thermometer in front of a sky with sun and clouds

Climate and Health

One Health: Climate Change Triggers Common Diseases

Helmholtz Munich is targeting the four major common diseases known to be exacerbated by climate change: allergies, diabetes, and pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.

Tired asian woman suffer from sunburn very hot in summer weather problem feel faint,dizzy,difficulty breathing,female teenage with heat stroke,high temperature,burning heat wave hot sun on sunny day

New Hope regarding lung diseases

Lung research at Helmholtz Munich has made some spectacular breakthroughs. They could pave the way for the therapy of serious diseases.

Asthma in children

The Farm Effect

Many children suffer from asthma or allergies. Yet these complaints could be combated as they arise. What strategies is research pursuing and what role does the cowshed play in this?

A little girl looks at a young cow in a field on a warm summer evening

Staple Foods Defy Climate Change

How researchers from Helmholtz Munich are making wheat, oats, barley, and co. fit for the future.

Prof. Dr. Erika von Mutius

Director Institute of Asthma and Allergy Prevention, IAP

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Portrait Annette Peters, EPI, freigestellt

Prof. Dr. Annette Peters

Director Institute of Epidemiology, EPI

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Prof. Dr. Önder Yildirim

Director Institute of Lung Health and Immunity, LHI

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Prof. Dr. Herbert Schiller

Director Research Unit Precision Regenerative Medicine, PRM

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Portrait Michael Hoelscher, Unit Global Health (UGH)

Prof. Dr. Michael Hoelscher

Director Unit Global Health, UGH

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Prof. Dr. Michael Schloter

Director Research Unit for Comparative Microbiome Analyses, COMI

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Prof. Dr. Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin

Director Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, BGC

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Prof. Dr. Klaus F.X. Mayer

Director Research Unit Plant Genome and Systems Biology, PGSB

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Porträt Jörg-Peter Schnitzler_freigestellt

Prof. Dr. Jörg-Peter Schnitzler

Director Research Unit Environmental Simulation, EUS

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Porträt Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann_freigestellt

Prof. Dr. Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann

Director Institute of Environmental Medicine, IEM

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Porträt Carsten Schmidt-Weber, freigestellt

Prof. Dr. Carsten Schmidt-Weber

Director Institute of Allergy Research, IAF

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Heat Action Day 2026: WHO Presents New Guidance for Health-Related Heat Action Plans

On 11 June 2026, the nationwide Heat Action Day will take place in Germany under the motto “Preparing together for extreme heat.” The day aims to raise awareness of the health risks posed by extreme heat and strengthen measures to protect the…

Researchers from Helmholtz Munich, Hopsteiner and Carlsberg Research Laboratory have unveiled the most detailed genetic map of hops ever created – a major step toward protecting one of beer’s key ingredients from the growing impacts of climate…

Doctor drawing man's blood sample in clinic, closeup AdobeStock_1937412501

A population-based cohort study provides new data on the prevalence of early-stage type 1 diabetes in young adults, addressing a gap in epidemiological research. Using samples from the LISA and GINIplus cohorts and methodologies established in the…

Helmholtz Munich has been awarded a prestigious grant of up to 900 000 US Dollar from Breakthrough T1D, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization. The funding will support the research into early-stage T1D in adults,…

double portrait of Erika von Mutius and Önder Yildirim

For decades, scientists have puzzled over a striking observation: children who grow up on traditional farms are far less likely to develop allergies or asthma than their urban peers. What is it about farm life that protects young lungs?

Hrovatin, K. ; Sikkema, L. ; Shitov, V.A. ; Heimberg, G. ; Shulman, M. ; Oliver, A.J. ; Müller, M. ; Ibarra Del Rio, I.A. ; Wang, H. ; Ramirez Suastegui, C. ; He, P. ; Schaar, A. ; Teichmann, S.A. ; Theis, F.J. ; Luecken, M.

Considerations for building and using integrated single-cell atlases

He, C. ; Breitner-Busch, S. ; Huber, V. ; […]; Schneider, A.E.

Rainfall events and daily mortality across 645 global locations: Two stage time series analysis

He, C. ; Breitner-Busch, S. ; Zhang, S. ; Huber, V. ; Naumann, M. ; Traidl-Hoffmann, C. ; Hammel, G. ; Peters, A. ; Ertl, M. ; Schneider, A.E.

Nocturnal heat exposure and stroke risk

Wallis, R.S. ; Sabi, I. ; Lalashowi, J. ; Bakuli, A. ; Mapamba, D. ; Olomi, W. ; Siyame, E. ; Ngaraguza, B. ; Chimbe, O. ; Charalambous, S. ; Rachow, A. ; Ivanova, O. ; Zurba, L. ; Myombe, B. ; Kunambi, R. ; Hoelscher, M. ; Ntinginya, N.E. ; Churchyard, G.

Adjunctive N-acetylcysteine and lung function in pulmonary tuberculosis

Jakwerth, C.A. ; Weckmann, M. ; Illi, S. ; Charles, H. ; Zissler, U.M. ; Oelsner, M. ; Guerth, F. ; Omony, J. ; Nemani, S.S.P. ; Grychtol, R. ; Dittrich, A.M. ; Skevaki, C. ; Foth, S. ; Weber, S. ; Alejandre Alcazar, M.A. ; van Koningsbruggen-Rietschel, S. ; Brock, R. ; Blau, S. ; Hansen, G. ; Bahmer, T. ; Rabe, K.F. ; Brinkmann, F. ; Kopp, M.V. ; Chaker, A.M. ; Schaub, B. ; Von Mutius, E. ; Schmidt-Weber, C.B.

17q21 variants disturb mucosal host defense in childhood asthma

Schwarz, M. ; Schneider, A.E. ; Cyrys, J. ; Bastian, S. ; Breitner-Busch, S. ; Peters, A.

Impact of ambient ultrafine particles on cause-specific mortality in three German cities

Lang, N.J. ; Schniering, J. ; Porras-Gonzalez, D.L. ; Yang, L. ; De Sadeleer, L.J. ; Jentzsch, R.C. ; Shitov, V.A. ; Zhou, S. ; Ansari, M. ; Agami, A. ; Mayr, C. ; Hooshiar Kashani, B. ; Chen, Y. ; Heumos, L. ; Pestoni, J. ; Molnar, E.S. ; Geeraerts, E. ; Anquetil, V. ; Saniere, L. ; Wögrath, M. ; Gerckens, M. ; Lehmann, M. ; Yildirim, A.Ö. ; Hatz, R.A. ; Kneidinger, N. ; Behr, J. ; Wuyts, W.A. ; Stoleriu, M.-G. ; Luecken, M. ; Theis, F.J. ; Burgstaller, G. ; Schiller, H.

Ex vivo tissue perturbations coupled to single-cell RNA-seq reveal multilineage cell circuit dynamics in human lung fibrogenesis

Ni, W. ; Nikolaou, N. ; Ward-Caviness, C. ; Breitner-Busch, S. ; Wolf, K. ; Zhang, S. ; Wilson, R. ; Waldenberger, M. ; Peters, A. ; Schneider, A.E.

Associations between medium- and long-term exposure to air temperature and epigenetic age acceleration

Sikkema, L. ; […] ; Schniering, J. ; […]; Kapellos, T. ; […]; Schiller, H. ; […]; Luecken, M. ; Theis, F.J.

An integrated cell atlas of the lung in health and disease

Kamal, N. ; Tsardakas Renhuldt, N. ; Bentzer, J. ; Gundlach, H. ; Haberer, G. ; Juhász, A. ; Lux, T. ; Bose, U. ; Tye-Din, J.A. ; Lang, D. ; van Gessel, N. ; Reski, R. ; Fu, Y.B. ; Spégel, P. ; Ceplitis, A. ; Himmelbach, A. ; Waters, A.J. ; Bekele, W.A. ; Colgrave, M.L. ; Hansson, M. ; Stein, N. ; Mayer, K.F.X. ; Jellen, E.N. ; Maughan, P.J. ; Tinker, N.A. ; Mascher, M. ; Olsson, O. ; Spannagl, M. ; Sirijovski, N.

The mosaic oat genome gives insights into a uniquely healthy cereal crop

Luecken, M. ; Büttner, M. ; Chaichoompu, K. ; Danese, A. ; Interlandi, M. ; Müller, M. ; Strobl, D.C. ; Zappia, L. ; Dugas, M. ; Colomé-Tatché, M. ; Theis, F.J.

Benchmarking atlas-level data integration in single-cell genomics

Lotfollahi, M. ; Naghipourfar, M. ; Luecken, M. ; Khajavi, M. ; Büttner, M. ; Wagenstetter, M. ; Avsec, Z. ; Gayoso, A. ; Yosef, N. ; Interlandi, M. ; Rybakov, S. ; Misharin, A.V. ; Theis, F.J.

Mapping single-cell data to reference atlases by transfer learning

Gerckens, M. ; Schorpp, K.K. ; Pelizza, F. ; Wögrath, M. ; Reichau, K. ; Ma, H. ; Dworsky, A.-M. ; Sengupta, A. ; Stoleriu, M.-G. ; Heinzelmann, K. ; Merl-Pham, J. ; Irmler, M. ; Alsafadi, H.N. ; Trenkenschuh, E. ; Sarnova, L. ; Jirouskova, M. ; Frieß, W. ; Hauck, S.M. ; Beckers, J. ; Kneidinger, N. ; Behr, J. ; Hilgendorff, A. ; Hadian, K. ; Lindner, M. ; Königshoff, M. ; Eickelberg, O. ; Gregor, M. ; Plettenburg, O. ; Yildirim, A.Ö. ; Burgstaller, G.

Phenotypic drug screening in a human fibrosis model identified a novel class of antifibrotic therapeutics

Zhang, S. ; Mwiberi, S. ; Pickford, R. ; Breitner-Busch, S. ; Huth, C. ; Koenig, W. ; Rathmann, W. ; Herder, C. ; Roden, M. ; Cyrys, J. ; Peters, A. ; Wolf, K. ; Schneider, A.E.

Longitudinal associations between ambient air pollution and insulin sensitivity: Results from the KORA cohort study

Peters, A. ; Nawrot, T.S. ; Baccarelli, A.A.

Hallmarks of environmental insults

Muus, C. ; Luecken, M. ; […] ; Conlon, T.M. ; […] ; Ziegler, C.G.K.

Single-cell meta-analysis of SARS-CoV-2 entry genes across tissues and demographics

Conlon, T.M. ; John-Schuster, G. ; Heide, D. ; Pfister, D. ; Lehmann, M. ; Hu, Y. ; Ertüz, Z. ; López, M.A. ; Ansari, M. ; Strunz, M. ; Mayr, C. ; Ciminieri, C. ; Costa, R. ; Kohlhepp, M.S. ; Guillot, A. ; Güneş, G. ; Jeridi, A. ; Funk, M.C. ; Beroshvili, G. ; Prokosch, S. ; Hetzer, J. ; Verleden, S.E. ; Alsafadi, H.N. ; Lindner, M. ; Burgstaller, G. ; Becker, L. ; Irmler, M. ; Dudek, M. ; Janzen, J. ; Goffin, E. ; Gosens, R. ; Knolle, P. ; Pirotte, B. ; Stöger, T. ; Beckers, J. ; Wagner, D.E. ; Singh, I. ; Theis, F.J. ; Hrabě de Angelis, M. ; O’Connor, T. ; Tacke, F. ; Boutros, M. ; Dejardin, E. ; Eickelberg, O. ; Schiller, H. B. ; Königshoff, M. ; Heikenwalder, M. ; Yildirim, A.Ö.

Inhibition of LTβR signalling activates WNT-induced regeneration in lung

Haberer, G. ; Kamal, N. ; Bauer, E. ; Gundlach, H. ; Fischer, I. ; Seidel, M. ; Spannagl, M. ; Marcon, C. ; Ruban, A. ; Urbany, C. ; Nemri, A. ; Hochholdinger, F. ; Ouzunova, M. ; Houben, A. ; Schön, C.C. ; Mayer, K.F.X.

European maize genomes highlight intraspecies variation in repeat and gene content

Jayakodi, M. ; Padmarasu, S. ; Haberer, G. ; Bonthala, V. ; Gundlach, H. ; Monat, C. ; Lux, T. ; Kamal, N. ; Lang, D. ; […]; Mayer, K.F.X. ; Spannagl, M. ; Li, C. ; Mascher, M. ; Stein, N.

The barley pan-genome reveals the hidden legacy of mutation breeding

Stein, M.M. ; Hrusch, C.L. ; Gozdz, J. ; Igartua, C. ; Pivniouk, V. ; Murray, S.E. ; Ledford, J.G. ; Marques Dos Santos, M. ; Anderson, R.L. ; Metwali, N. ; Neilson, J.W. ; Maier, R.M. ; Gilbert, J.A. ; Holbreich, M. ; Thorne, P.S. ; Martinez, F.D. ; von Mutius, E. ; Vercelli, D. ; Ober, C. ; Sperling, A.I.

Innate Immunity and Asthma Risk in Amish and Hutterite Farm Children