We are excited to announce that the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will be sponsoring a symposium at the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) Conference and Global Forum in Washington, DC from Jan 24-26, 2017 (http://www.ncseconference.org/). The 2017 conference has the theme “Integrating Environment and Health” and typically brings together between 1,000-1,200 attendees from a diverse array of backgrounds including the academic community, scientific organizations, federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, state and local government agencies, international entities, and private businesses.
The symposium is titled “Microbiology of the Built Environment: Implications for Health and Design” and will engage the broader scientific and policy community in microbiology of the built environment research. The symposium will have chair Karen Dannemiller (Ohio State University) and co-chair Mark Weir (Ohio State University), and additional speakers will include Michael Morowitz (University of Pittsburgh), Amy Pruden (Virginia Tech), Jessica Green (University of Oregon), and Jade Mitchell (Michigan State University). Topics will include use of DNA sequencing for microbiology of the built environment research, premise plumbing systems, childhood asthma, hospital microbiomes and neonatal development, antibiotic resistance, risk modeling, and building design and mitigation. More information, including links to registration and travel information, can be found on the NCSE website at http://www.ncseconference.org/.
The symposium itself will be held on Tuesday, January 24 from 3:30-5:00 pm.