Portrait of the IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine

IUF is a research institute in Düsseldorf with an average of 130 employees. It was founded in 2001 as an independent, non-profit enterprise. Since 2011, IUF has been a member of the Leibniz Association. It is funded by the federal and state governments - the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

IUF investigates the following questions:

  • What role do environmental influences play in diseases
  • What are the underlying mechanisms?
  • How can we counteract the negative effects of environmental influences?

The focus of the work is the effects of:

  • Solar radiation
  • Air pollution
  • Selected chemicals
  • Climate factors

Research at IUF is divided into four research fields:

  • Environmentally-induced pulmonary aging (lung)
  • Environmentally-induced skin aging
  • Environmentally-induced disturbances of the nervous system
  • Environmentally-induced disturbances of the immune system

The following expertise is combined at IUF:

  • Toxicology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular aging research
  • Epidemiology

Investigations are performed on:

  • Cell cultures
  • 3D cell models
  • Animal models
  • Volunteers
  • Larger population groups (cohort studies)
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