Andrea Baccarelli

Andrea Baccarelli | JRNLClub

Research Statement

AI generated · Oct 28, 2026

Andrea Baccarelli's research examines how environmental exposures reshape the epigenome and influence human disease. His early work on epigenetic mechanisms linking environmental chemicals to health (935 citations) helped establish environmental epigenetics as a field, complemented by DNA methylation changes following traffic-particle exposure (653 citations), which showed that airborne pollutants can alter methylation rapidly. A related line traces declining genomic DNA methylation with aging in elderly cohorts (595 citations), while later synthesis work on the hallmarks of environmental insults (376 citations) frames how pollutants converge on shared biological pathways. Across these studies, the throughline is how chemical and particulate exposures leave measurable epigenetic marks relevant to cardiovascular and metabolic risk. Baccarelli also contributed as a middle author to large consortia and biomarker efforts, including an epigenetic biomarker of aging for lifespan and healthspan (3,669 citations) and DunedinPACE, a DNA methylation biomarker of the pace of aging, alongside Steve Horvath and other collaborators on methylation-based aging measures. Related work on epigenetic signatures of cigarette smoking and newborn methylation and maternal smoking extended this exposure–epigenome framework into tobacco and early-life settings. No software, datasets, patents, or grants are indexed beyond these publications. Taken together, the named works trace a coherent arc from documenting exposure-induced methylation changes toward building epigenetic biomarkers of aging and disease risk.

Most Cited Works

Outdoor air pollution and cancer: An overview of the current evidence and public health recommendations

Michelle C Turner, Zorana J Andersen, Andrea Baccarelli, W Ryan Diver, Susan M Gapstur, C Arden Pope, Diddier Prada, Jonathan Samet, George Thurston, Aaron Cohen

CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians2020

848Citations

Molecular mechanisms of environmental exposures and human disease

Haotian Wu, Christina M Eckhardt, Andrea A Baccarelli

Nature Reviews Genetics2023

Research Areas

Epigenetics and DNA MethylationAir Quality and Health ImpactsBirth, Development, and HealthHealth, Environment, Cognitive AgingGenetic Associations and Epidemiology

Affiliations & Education

Education

University of Milan(IT)
PhD · Environmental and Occupational Health
University of Turin(IT)
MPH · Epidemiology
University of Perugia(IT)
MD · Medicine

Employment

2024–present

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Meta-analyses identify DNA methylation associated with kidney function and damage

Pascal Schlosser, Adrienne Tin, Pamela R Matias-Garcia, Chris H L Thio, Roby Joehanes, Hongbo Liu, Antoine Weihs, Zhi Yu, Anselm Hoppmann, Franziska Grundner-Culemann, Josine L Min, Adebowale A Adeyemo, Charles Agyemang, Johan Ärnlöv, Nasir A Aziz, Andrea Baccarelli, Murielle Bochud, Hermann Brenner, Monique M B Breteler, Cristian Carmeli, Layal Chaker, John C Chambers, Shelley A Cole, Josef Coresh, Tanguy Corre, Adolfo Correa, Simon R Cox, Niek de Klein, Graciela E Delgado, Arce Domingo-Relloso, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Arif B Ekici, Karlhans Endlich, Kathryn L Evans, James S Floyd, Myriam Fornage, Lude Franke, Eliza Fraszczyk, Xu Gao, Xīn Gào, Mohsen Ghanbari, Sahar Ghasemi, Christian Gieger, Philip Greenland, Megan L Grove, Sarah E Harris, Gibran Hemani, Peter Henneman, Christian Herder, Steve Horvath, Lifang Hou, Mikko A Hurme, Shih-Jen Hwang, Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin, Sharon L R Kardia, Silva Kasela, Marcus E Kleber, Wolfgang Koenig, Jaspal S Kooner, Holly Kramer, Florian Kronenberg, Brigitte Kühnel, Terho Lehtimäki, Lars Lind, Dan Liu, Yongmei Liu, Donald M Lloyd-Jones, Kurt Lohman, Stefan Lorkowski, Ake T Lu, Riccardo E Marioni, Winfried März, Daniel L McCartney, Karlijn A C Meeks, Lili Milani, Pashupati P Mishra, Matthias Nauck, Ana Navas-Acien, Christoph Nowak, Annette Peters, Holger Prokisch, Bruce M Psaty, Olli T Raitakari, Scott M Ratliff, Alex P Reiner, Sylvia E Rosas, Ben Schöttker, Joel Schwartz, Sanaz Sedaghat, Jennifer A Smith, Nona Sotoodehnia, Hannah R Stocker, Silvia Stringhini, Johan Sundström, Brenton R Swenson, Maria Tellez-Plaza, Joyce B J van Meurs, Jana V van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, Andrea Venema, Niek Verweij, Rosie M Walker, Matthias Wielscher, Juliane Winkelmann, Bruce H R Wolffenbuttel, Wei Zhao, Yinan Zheng, Estonian Biobank Research Team, Genetics of DNA Methylation Consortium, Marie Loh, Harold Snieder, Daniel Levy, Melanie Waldenberger, Katalin Susztak, Anna Köttgen, Alexander Teumer

Nature Communications2021

74Citations