Deputy Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Head of Research Group "Environmental Risks"
Dr. Alexandra Schneider Mph
“Living in urban built environments means being exposed to multiple environmental factors. Protecting especially the susceptible subpopulations from harmful environmental stimuli and promoting health by pointing to the beneficial factors is the driver of my research.”
Academic Career and Research Areas
Alexandra Schneider holds both a Diploma in Meteorology and a Master’s in Public Health. In 2004 she received a Doctorate in Human Biology from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. She then worked as a postdoc at the Institute for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, in the research group "Epidemiology of Air Pollution Effects". Since 2010 she has headed her own research group "Environmental Risks" at the Institute for Epidemiology at Helmholtz Zentrum München. The research interests of Alexandra Schneider are divided into several areas. The first touches on the impact of weather and climate change on human health, the second on particulate and gaseous air pollution. The focus is on cardiovascular diseases. Together with the adverse health effects of noise and the health-promoting influences of green and blue areas, Alexandra Schneider covers the large topic "Urban Health". Important partners for her research are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and the Multi County Multi City Database Network.
Alexandra enjoys sharing her enthusiasm and experience about her work and participates in a broad range of scientific activities:
- Regular Visiting Scientist of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Member of the Commission Environmental Public Health at the Robert Koch-Institute
- Speaker of the Expert Group “Environmental Impact and Geographical Factors” of the German National Cohort (NAKO)
- Member of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), Member of the Annual Conference Committee
- Member of the Task Force “Environmental Sustainability” of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
- Member of the Task Force “Planetary Health” of the German Society of Cardiology (DGK)
- Member of the Editorial Board of Inhalation Toxicology and since 2022 as Associate Editor
- Member of the Editorial Board Section Team on "Climate Change and Health" of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Member of the Multi Country Multi City Database Network
- Member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) Working Group 6
Fields of Work and Expertise
Environmental Epidemiology Air Pollution Meteorology Climate Change Noise Green Space Biostatistics Cardiovascular Diseases
Professional Background
Deputy Director of the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Munich
Speaker of the Expert Group “Environmental Impact and Geographical Factors” of the German National Cohort (NAKO)
Head of Research Group “Environmental Risks” at the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Munich
Visiting scientist for 3 months at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dr. rer. biol. hum. (PhD) in Medicine (Epidemiology), Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Munich, Germany
Honors and Awards
- Scientific and Technological Achievement Award Level 1 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: “Demonstrating the effects of air pollution on individuals with prior cardiac complications 2017
- Young Investigator Award of the German Society for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (GMDS) 2004
- "Bavarian Public Health Lion” for best Master’s Thesis 2003
