Dr. Silvia Ruggieri is currently a Researcher at the Institute for Research and Biomedical Innovation IRIB of the National Research Council, Palermo. She completed her Ph.D. studies in Environmental Science at the University of Insubria. Her main research interests are focused on environmental epidemiology. She studies environmental exposures and human health, with special regard to risk factors for respiratory diseases, reproductive health, and long-term infant outcomes. She cooperates in European and National research and development projects on environmental pollution, epidemiology, and risk factors in pediatric respiratory disease. She collaborated to create the NEHO (Neonatal Environment and Health Outcomes) cohort, the first residential cohort in Italy especially developed in heavily contaminated areas (National Priority Contaminated Sites of Milazzo/Valle del Mela, Augusta/Priolo, and Crotone), to evaluate the effects of genetic and environmental factors on children health.