Microbes are ubiquitous in the built environment and present as a unique ecological component of importance for indoor air quality. One major influence of microbial activities on indoor air quality is through the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Although a variety of microbial VOCs (mVOCs) have been identified in laboratory studies, compounds exclusively of …
I’m really excited to have been recently awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Microbiology of the Built Environment postdoctoral fellowship. I was asked to explain a little about my plans for the project I’ll be working on for the next two years now that I officially have my PhD. As a graduate student I investigated …
Microbiome studies involving sports, especially non-contact sports, have yet to become a focus of basic or clinical research. Studying indoor track facilities and the athletes that use them has the potential to demonstrate human effects on the microbiome of a built environment and reciprocated effects of the built environment on the human microbiome; this using …
Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, so it is critical that we characterize exposure routes of infectious agents, including those resistant to antibiotics. The source of infectious agents is often attributed to the environment. But, few studies have explored what types of environmental exposure introduce opportunistic microbial pathogens or what actions may …