Environmental Health, Asthma and Allergy Prevention

Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is not one disease but a syndrome consisting of many so far not well-characterized and delineated genetic and environmental determinants. The focus of our work at the Institute of Asthma and Allergy Prevention (IAP) is to develop novel asthma and allergy prevention strategies and characterize in-depth asthma phenotypes.

Group Leader: Markus Ege

Why and how are children growing up on traditional farms protected from asthma. And what role is playing the microbiome in the gut or bacteria on skin and in the nose? Scientists at IAP try to disentangle microorganisms or their interactions which are associated with allergic diseases.

Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c Erika von Mutius

Director and Department Head View profile

Dr. rer. med. Sabina Illi

Statistician, Deputy Director, Group Leader

Prof. Dr. Markus Ege

Senior Scientist, Group Leader

Bettina Rankl

Coordinator Drug Development, Group Leader

Dr. rer. biol. hum. Martin Depner

Biostatistician

Professor Jonathan Grigg

Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, MD, FRCPCH, FFPH

Portrait Ülkü Rabia Korkmaz_freigestellt

Dr. rer. nat. Rabia Ülkü Korkmaz

Scientist Translational Research

Sophie Lang

Medical Doctorate

Birgit Langer

Data Manager

Dr. med. Nicole Maison

Physician Scientist

Dr. Jimmy Omony

Biostatistician

Dr. Giulia Pagani

Bioinformatician

PD Dr. sc. hum. Sonali Pechlivanis

Epidemiologist

Elisabeth Schmaußer-Hechfellner

Data Manager

Dr. rer. nat. Soni Shankhwar

Scientist Translational Research

Beatrix Steer

Technical Assistant

Charlotte Steinhäußer

Project Assistant

Christine Strunz-Lehner

Technical Support

Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften BAdW_Fahnen_2019

Awards & Grants, Environmental Health, IAP, Molecular Targets and Therapeutics, VIRO, April 07, 2025

At its most recent plenary session, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW) elected 14 distinguished scholars as new members. Among them are two Helmholtz Munich researchers: Prof. Erika von Mutius and Prof. Ulrike Protzer.

New Research Findings, Environmental Health, IAF, IAP, April 15, 2024

Scientists have reached a milestone in the research of childhood asthma. For the first time, they have clarified how a certain genetic defect in children initially leads to frequent infections and later to asthma. The study, published in the American…

IAP, March 01, 2024

Munich site of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL): Erika von Mutius is handing over to Ali Önder Yildirim.

Environmental Health, IAP, August 16, 2023

Johannes Wenner Research Prize for Dr. Nicole Maison (IAP, Helmholtz Munich)

Bayerns Ministerpraesident Dr. Markus Soeder: Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst

Awards & Grants, Environmental Health, IAP, July 27, 2023

Prof. von Mutius is one of nine exceptional individuals who have been awarded the "Bavarian Nobel Prize" this year for their outstanding work in the fields of science and art.

Awards & Grants, IAP, October 13, 2022

For pioneering research into the development of allergic diseases, Giulia Pagani has received a grant of 61,400 euros from the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Environmental Health, IAP, July 14, 2022

Erika von Mutius, Director of the Environmental Health Center, and her team receive an Advanced ERC Grant for their research on prevention strategies to curb asthma and allergies in children. ERC Advanced Grants are endowed with up to 2.5 million…

Intestinal bacteria, Gut microbiome helps control intestinal digestion and the immune system, Probiotics are beneficial bacteria used to help the growth of healthy gut flora

New Research Findings, IAP, November 02, 2020

Asthma impacts millions of children already at a young age. Children growing up on a farm have a lower risk of developing asthma than children not living on a farm. The mechanisms behind this protective farm effect on childhood asthma are largely…

2020 Nat Med

Depner M et al.

Maturation of the gut microbiome during the first year of life contributes to the protective farm effect on childhood asthma

2015 Science

Schuijs MJ et al.

Farm dust and endotoxin protect against allergy through A20 induction in lung epithelial cells

2012 J Allergy Clin Immunol

Illi S et al.

Protection from childhood asthma and allergy in Alpine farm environments

2011 N Engl J Med

Ege MJ et al.