Pollen-associated allergies have increased significantly in recent decades. International studies have also documented a progressive global increase in the burden of allergic diseases in the industrialized world over the past decades. Environmental changes of any kind that affect the patient and/or the allergen carrier must have led to a change in the immunity level over time and an increased occurrence of allergies. Air pollution, lifestyle, and the actual amount and allergenicity of pollen counts influence each other and the exact relationship between these factors is still unclear. Climate change is also changing the ecosystem. Air quality, vegetation and land use changes, plant diversity and distribution have changed the pollen season, pollen abundance and allergenicity.

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In two different but interconnected research groups, quantitative and qualitative pieces of information and conduct laboratory-based experiments and field studies are collected and analyzed. The more we know about exactly which environmental factors have which effects, the more we will be able to improve public health.

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The main mission is to understand the formation, release, transport, transformation and removal of bioaerosols in the atmosphere and how this affects the general environment and health in particular.

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Maria Plaza's young group focuses mainly on three areas of distinction: on exposure and human health, forecasts of aeroallergens and on atmospheric processes such as the detection of bioaerosols in real-time. Detection and mathematical modelling go hand in hand, often involving field work, laboratory work and use of computer clusters within a BIG data environment.

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