Lidia Morawska

Lidia Morawska
Lidia Morawska
Born	November 10, 1952 (age 74); Tarnów, Poland
Occupation(s)	Physicist, Professor
Years active	1982–present
Known for	Research on air quality, airborne particles, and COVID-19 airborne transmission

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Lidia Morawska, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 10 August 2025

Lidia Morawska (born 10 November 1952 in Tarnów, Poland) is a distinguished Polish–Australian physicist and professor at the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. She leads the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (ILAQH) at QUT and co-directs the Australia-China Centre for Air Quality Science and Management. Additionally, Morawska holds an adjunct professorship at Jinan University in China and is a Vice-Chancellor fellow at the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) at the University of Surrey, UK. Her scientific investigations primarily address the effects of air quality on human health, with a particular emphasis on fine, ultrafine, and nanoscale atmospheric particles. Since 2003, her research scope has broadened to include respiratory particles and their role in airborne disease transmission.

Morawska’s accolades include the 2018 Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research and the 2017 David Sinclair Award from the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR). In 2020, she played a pivotal role in advancing understanding of airborne virus transmission, including studies related to COVID-19. That same year, she was inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and received the Special Award for Academic Leadership from the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate. In 2021, Time magazine recognized her as one of the world’s 100 most influential individuals.

Life and career

Born in Tarnów in 1952 to parents Henryk Jaskuła, a yachtsman, and Zofia, Morawska relocated to Przemyśl when she was two years old. She completed her PhD in 1982 at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, concentrating on radon-related studies.

From 1982 to 1987, she served as a research fellow at the Institute of Physics and Nuclear Techniques within the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Cracow. Following this, she undertook postdoctoral research positions at McMaster University and University of Toronto before joining Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 1991.

At QUT, Morawska established what was initially called the Environmental Aerosol Laboratory, now known as the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health. She was promoted to associate professor in 2003. She has been an influential consultant to the World Health Organization, where she co-chaired the committee responsible for developing WHO Air Quality Guidelines that inform global air quality standards.

Morawska also contributes as an Associate Editor for the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Research

Her scientific work encompasses eight principal domains: detection of ultrafine particles; urban pollution originating from combustion; dynamics of ambient particles; indoor air quality management; deposition mechanisms within lungs; risk evaluation and reduction strategies; development of sophisticated air quality monitoring networks; and examination of respiratory particles relevant to infection control.

Selected research grants include:

Notable Research Funding
Year	Project	Funding Agency
2020	“The Air is Fair, Here and There”: Queensland Communities Assessing and Comparing Air Quality	Queensland Citizen Science
2019	Addressing cultural and developmental challenges to adopting cleaner energy solutions in Oceania: Solomon Islands pilot study	NHMRC CAR Seed Funding
2019	Study on airborne ultrafine particles across Australian metropolitan areas	ARC Linkage Projects
2018	Evaluation of children’s exposure to air pollutants in Fiji and associated health impacts	NHMRC CAR Seed Funding
2017	Creation of Advanced Networks for Air Quality Monitoring and Analysis	ARC Linkage Projects
2012	Impact assessment of nano- and ultrafine traffic-related particles on children’s health (UPTECH)	ARC Linkage Projects

COVID-19 research

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she directed a multidisciplinary team of 239 researchers who provided guidance to international public health organizations regarding the airborne spread of SARS-CoV-2. Their findings contributed to revisions by the WHO and institutions such as the US Center for Disease Control concerning airborne transmission hazards. In 2020, she became a member of The Lancet COVID Commission’s Task Force on Workplace, School, and Travel Safety, concentrating on environmental risk factors within buildings that are vital for outbreak analysis.

Ultrafine particle research

Her investigation titled "Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions and Children’s Health" demonstrated a connection between children’s exposure to ultrafine particles from vehicular traffic and increased systemic and respiratory inflammation. This research influenced the World Health Organization and various nations to update air quality standards aimed at better safeguarding children by controlling exposure to ultrafine particles.

Global Burden of Diseases studies

Since 2012, she has played an active role in global initiatives such as the Global Burden of Disease studies, which systematically quantify the health risks posed by air pollution.

Honours and awards

Her contributions to science have been acknowledged by multiple prestigious bodies, including:

2023: Laureate for Asia and the Pacific in Earth and Environmental Science at the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards
2023: Recipient of the Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture from the Australian Academy of Science
2021: Named among Time magazine's 100 most influential people under the Innovators category
2021: Awarded the ISIAQ Special 2020 Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership
2020: Honored with the QUT Vice-Chancellors’ Award for Leadership Excellence
2020: Ranked 16,428th among the top 100,000 scientists worldwide by Stanford University
2020: Recognized by The Sydney Morning Herald as a leading figure in health and science research
2020: Shortlisted as one of Australia’s Top 40 scientists by Australian Research Magazine
2020: Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
2018: Winner of the Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research
2017: Awarded the David Sinclair Award by the American Association for Aerosol Research
2017: Received Queensland University of Technology Vice-Chancellor's Performance Award
2011: Presented with the Clean Air Medal by the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand

Selected works

With a prolific output exceeding 950 scholarly publications—including journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings—she is widely cited. Her most referenced papers include:

Key publications related to Covid-19 are:

Lidia Morawska, et al., "A paradigm shift to combat indoor respiratory infection". Science, 372(6543): 689–691, 2021.
Lidia Morawska and Donald Milton, "It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of COVID-19". Clinical Infectious Diseases, 71(9): 2311-2313, 2020.
Lidia Morawska, et al., "How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised?" Environment International, 142:105832, 2020.

Additional significant works include:

References