Institute of Environmental Medicine, IEM, Environmental Health Center, Helmholtz Munich

„Environment“ is everything that is not „us“. There are a lot of factors that determine whether what surrounds us, our habits and way of life makes us healthier and happier or makes us sick. At IEM we are looking for what makes us healthy and resilient, and what lets us stay that way. Prevention is our main goal.

Green glass globe with green leaves and morning sunlight.

We focus on basic research in the field of allergy, the microbiome of the skin and on easily accessible biomarkers, as indicators for example for allergies or sensitizations, or for the prediction of the severity of infections with Corona-Virus.

Outstanding scientists in the fields of Clinical Studies, Environmental Immunology, Human Exposure Science, Microbiology and Environmental Bioinformatics co-operate in our projects. We are working to improve methods of diagnosis, develop integrated and personalized strategies for prevention and therapy of chronic environmental diseases such as allergies or atopic eczema and improve people’s health within a perspective of Sustainable Health. The needs of the patients we see at the Outpatient Clinic of Environmental Health at Augsburg University Hospital are guidance in developing our research questions and the answers we find immediately are integrated into the treatment of our patients.

We focus especially on the consequences of man-made pollution and climate change or changing environmental conditions on our health and on our options to strengthen resilience and adaptation. We work for healthy people in healthy environments.

Our skin is a protective barrier between "us" and our environment. Yet the skin is much more than just a physical barrier. An acidic pH, immune cells and skin bacteria, the so-called skin microbiome, are part of the complex defense organ.
Which environmental factors influence the skin microbiome?

Understanding how and when people are exposed to environmental factors like pollen, spores or air pollution will help to identify the causes of disease. We believe that the more we know about which environmental factors exactly have which effects, the more we will be able to improve public health.

What makes an allergen an allergen? Which signals must be emitted by harmless foreign proteins, on air-borne pollen for example, in order to be mistakenly classified by the mammalian immune system as harmful and allergic sensitization sets in? How does allergic sensitization work?

Biomarkers play an important role in the prevention, diagnosis and in personalized treatment of diseases.
Our innovative projects CoVnasal, CoVaKo and Early-Opt-COVID-19 contribute to the advancement of a medicine that can offer tailor-made treatments to patients.

COVID-19 Vaccine vial and injection Needle Syringe against Coronavirus infection in hand of doctor with Nitrile Glove in hospital laboratory. Medical, health, Vaccination and immunization concept

The HEALP junior research group “Health after post-infection” is dedicated to researching the medium- and long-term health consequences of infections and vaccinations. The focus is particularly on post-COVID and post-vaccination syndrome, but also on the long-known disease ME/CFS.

The Integrative Data Science group is dedicated to advancing the quality, reproducibility, and integrity of scientific data and its analysis, with a particular focus on microbiome research.

The harmless skin bacterium Staphylococcus hominis may play a key role in protecting the skin barrier in neurodermatitis (atopic dermatitis). Researchers from University Medicine Augsburg and Helmholtz Munich, together with colleagues from Freiburg,…

A new expert opinion piece in the medical journal The Lancet highlights a growing alignment between scientific frameworks that examine how changes in the Earth system - such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change – are influencing human…

As part of the 37th Allergy Colloquium at the Research Center Borstel, Dr. Matthias Reiger was awarded the Kanert Award for Allergy Research. The scientist received the recognition for a research project focused on the use of nanopore sequencing in…

Under the motto “Heat Protection for All,” a broad alliance of healthcare actors and other organizations – including Helmholtz Munich – is drawing attention to the health risks posed by high temperatures on the occasion of Heat Action Day.

A recent study conducted by Helmholtz Munich in collaboration with the University of Augsburg reveals that the PollDi app significantly enhances the quality of life for individuals with grass pollen allergies. The full version of the app – which…