Microbes in the City, New York, June 19, 2015

This conference will bring together scientists, engineers, architects, public health workers, ethicists, and policy makers at the forefront of efforts to map all of the genetic information that makes up the urban genome. This information–a living microbial fingerprint known as a metagenome–is intended to be used to create built environments that consider microbial ecology. The goal is to improve the health and productivity of these environments such that we may be able to design healthier homes and workplaces, identify potential health threats, track and fight disease epidemics, and even chart the environmental impact of major storms.