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EPA Webinar and Discussion: What Have We Learned about the Microbiomes of Indoor Environments?

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Paula Olsiewski just pointed us to this upcoming webinar and discussion hosted by Brent Stephens.   This presumably relates closely to his article on the same topic which is a must-read.


What Have We Learned about the Microbiomes of Indoor Environments?

Presented by: Brent Stephens, PhD, Associate Professor of Architectural   Engineering,   Illinois Institute of Technology

Date and Time: Thursday, September 22, 2016, 11 a.m. – Noon (EDT)

Q&A Session:   Noon—12:30 p.m. EDT

Hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Within the built environments, in the air, water, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and on surfaces, there exist a vast number and diversity of species of bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. These microbial communities or “microbiomes” are influenced by interactions with humans, animals and plants. They are also affected by factors such as air flow, temperature, humidity, chemical exposures and building materials. These factors are in turn, shaped by the design, construction, operation and use of the built environments.

For a better understanding of microbiomes in the built environment and their impacts on human health, the US EPA along with NASA, NIH and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation tasked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to convene a panel of experts to examine the formation and function of microbial communities in the built environment, their impact on human health, and how human occupants shape complex indoor microbes.

Dr. Brent Stephens, Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, presented a well-received overview of the current state of the science on microbiomes and the built environment to NAS’s microbiome consensus study panel of experts. Dr. Stephens has agreed to reprise (with some modifications) his overview as part of this webinar.

Please register for Microbiomes in the Built Environment on Sep 22, 2016 11:00 AM EDT at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7818365877554232836

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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David Coil

David Coil is a Project Scientist in the lab of Jonathan Eisen at UC Davis. David works at the intersection between research, education, and outreach in the areas of the microbiology of the built environment, microbial ecology, and bacterial genomics. Twitter

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