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IUF – LEIBNIZ RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE

The main task of the IUF is to conduct molecular research to prevent environmentally induced illnesses. The aim is to develop preventive strategies and improve health care.

The IUF is committed to examining the biological impact on the human body caused by environmental pollutants such as particulates, non-ionizing radiation, and chemicals. The main emphasis is on the environmental impact on the skin, lungs, and brain.

The IUF brings together scientific expertise from the fields of toxicology, immunology, molecular aging research, and epidemiology. This interdisciplinary research approach needs experimental models of one or more barrier organs (boundary surface medicine). Besides in vitro examinations on cultured cells and human three-dimensional organic model systems (the latter partly developed at the IUF), in vivo examinations are also performed on both animal models and humans and epidemiological studies are conducted. The IUF currently employs around 130 people and is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.