Maria Kippler

Maria Kippler serves as Associate Professor at Karolinska Institutet's Institute of Environmental Medicine. Her research integrates epidemiological and mechanistic approaches within mother-child cohorts to investigate environmental pollutant impacts on child health.

Her primary research focuses on early-life exposure to environmental pollutants, particularly metals and trace elements. Key interests include:

• Interactions between toxic elements (e.g., fluoride) and essential nutrients (selenium, iodine)
• Neurodevelopmental effects of low-level fluoride exposure during fetal development
• High-throughput biomarker analysis using ICP-MS and molecular techniques

Recent work demonstrates significant associations between maternal urinary fluoride concentrations (as low as 0.26mg/L) and reduced child intelligence, with pronounced effects on nonverbal reasoning. This research employed longitudinal cohort analysis in rural Bangladesh with cognitive assessments at ages 5 and 10.

Current research funding is secured through:

• Swedish Research Council
• Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning

Her laboratory specializes in environmental exposure biomonitoring using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for multi-element analysis in low-dose ranges, combined with advanced molecular effect biomarker techniques.