Tamara Schikowski

Tamara Schikowski leads the Environmental Epidemiology research group at the Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medicine Research (IUF) in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her work focuses on environmental determinants of lung, brain, and skin aging, with particular emphasis on air pollution, green spaces, and climate factors. She serves as a key investigator in major national and international cohort studies including SALIA, GINIplus, LISA, and the German National Cohort (NAKO), where she holds positions on the Use and Access Committee and Management Board.

Her research interests center on environmental epidemiology, with specific focus on how air pollution affects chronic diseases across the lifespan. She investigates gene-environment interactions, particularly regarding allergies, lung diseases, and skin aging. Her work has demonstrated associations between traffic-related air pollution and conditions including COPD, cognitive impairment, diabetes, and skin aging. She maintains the long-running SALIA cohort study initiated in the 1980s, examining air pollution effects on women's health over decades, and has expanded this to the multi-generational SALIA Family study.

Dr. Schikowski's publication record shows consistent high-impact research in environmental health, with recent work focusing on climate change health effects, exposome research, and social determinants of health. Her 2025 publications demonstrate breadth across respiratory health, neurological effects, metabolic conditions, and methodological advances in environmental epidemiology, reflecting both her leadership in large consortia and her commitment to translating research into public health understanding.

She actively mentors a diverse research team including postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and technical staff, fostering the next generation of environmental health scientists. Her collaborative approach spans multiple disciplines and international boundaries, working with institutions across Europe, Asia, and Australia on climate and health research.

Dr. Schikowski's laboratory maintains strong connections with both clinical and basic science researchers, participating in numerous consortia including SpiroMeta, EAGLE, CADSET, and EXPANSE. Her work bridges population-level epidemiology with mechanistic studies of environmental health effects, creating a comprehensive research program that addresses environmental health challenges from multiple angles.