Microbiomes of the Built Environment:

From Research to ApplicationMeeting 3 | October 17-18, 2016

Beckman Center of the National AcademiesIrvine, California

Microbiomes of the Built Environment: From Research to Application

Meeting #3Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center

University of California, IrvineOctober 17-18, 2016

Monday, October 17Buffet breakfast will be available

8:30am Welcome and Introductions Goals of the study and open meeting sessions Joan Bennett, Rutgers University - Committee Chair

8:45 How the Built Environment Microbiome Responds to Context and Perturbations Panel Chair: Robert Holt, University of Florida (Committee Member) Microbial community response to environmental conditions and the “Microbiomes in Transition (MinT)” Initiative Janet Jansson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Microbial community dynamics and resilience Sarah Evans, Michigan State University

The effect of geographic location on the composition and function of indoor microbiomes Shelly Miller, University of Colorado

Discussion

10:15 Break 10:30 The Current Toolkit for Studying Microbiome/Built Environment Interfaces Panel Chair: Jonathan Allen, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Committee Member)

Rob Knight, University of California, San Diego

11:15 Expanding the Toolkit: Improving Measurement Standards Scott Jackson, National Institute of Standards and Technology (remotely)

11:45 Expanding the Toolkit: Studying Microbial Functions Panel Chair: Jonathan Allen, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Committee Member)

Culture-dependent and -independent methods to study how microbial traits evolve Jay Lennon, Indiana University Bloomington

Mass spectrometry-based visualization of molecules associated with human habitats Pieter Dorrestein, University of California, San Diego

Discussion

12:30 Lunch Buffet lunch will be provided

1:30 Expanding the Toolkit: Modeling the Microbiome Panel Chair: Charles Haas, Drexel University (Committee Member)

Predicting how environmental changes may affect microbial communities Jennifer Martiny, University of California, Irvine

Building risk modeling and virus exposure in retrofitted buildings M. Patricia Fabian, Boston University (remotely)

Discussion

2:15 Break

2:30 Analyzing What’s Known from Case Examples: Comparing and Contrasting Results Panel Chair: Rachel Adams, University of California, Berkeley

• Homes - Tiina Reponen, University of Cincinnati• Hospitals - Brandon “Bubba” Brooks, University of California, Berkeley• International Space Station - Kasthuri Venkateswaran, NASA Jet Propulsion

Laboratory

Discussion with all panelists and Shelly Miller

3:45 Parallel Breakout Discussions: Analyzing what’s known about microbial communities in different types of environments and the resulting implications (colored sticker on your nametag will denote your group)

GROUP 1 - RED STICKER (Newport Room) Moderator: Andrew Persily, National Institute of Standards and Technology (Committee Member) Rapporteur: Arron Shiffer, Northern Arizona University (travel grant recipient)

GROUP 2 - BLUE STICKER (Balboa Room) Moderator: Mark Hernandez, University of Colorado, Boulder (Committee Member) Rapporteur: Lt. Col. Andrew Hoisington, United States Air Force Academy (travel grant recipient)

GROUP 3 - YELLOW STICKER (Crystal Cove Room) Moderator: Jessica Green, University of Oregon (Committee Member) Rapporteur: Bharath Prithiviraj, CUNY Brooklyn (travel grant recipient)

5:00 Reconvene in Plenary Recap of Day 1 and Key Points Raised in Breakouts

5:45 Adjourn Day 1

5:45 - 8:00 Reception and Travel Grant Recipient Poster Presentation Atrium outside Beckman Center Auditorium Heavy appetizers and beverages will be provided

Tuesday, October 18Buffet breakfast will be available

8:30 Welcome and Goals for Day 2 Joan Bennett, Committee Chair 8:45 Beyond Bacteria: Viral and Fungal Ecology in Indoor Environments Panel Chair: Joan Bennett, Committee Chair

Viruses in the Built Environment Linsey Marr, Virginia Tech

Fungi in the Built Environment John Taylor, University of California, Berkeley

Discussion

9:45 Break

10:00 Built Environment Interventions and the Microbiome: Impacts and Tradeoffs Panel Chair: Jordan Peccia, Yale University (Committee Member)

Increased ventilation rates and building dampness Mark Mendell, California Department of Public Health

Bio-walls and indoor houseplants: facts and fictions Michael Waring, Drexel University

Discussion

11:15 Perspectives from Building Design and Commissioning

What the design community needs to incorporate consideration of the microbiomes of the built environment into the design of facilities Kevin van den Wymelenberg, University of Oregon Robin Guenther, Perkins+Will (remotely)

Discussion

12:15 Concluding Remarks

12:30 Public Meeting Adjourns

1:30 - 5pm Closed NAS/NAM/NAE Committee Discussion

 

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STUDY COMMITTEE

JOAN WENNSTROM BENNETT, PHD (Chair)Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology and PathologyRutgers University

JONATHAN ALLEN, PHDBioinformatics ScientistLawrence Livermore National Laboratory

JEAN COX-GANSER, PHDResearch Team Supervisor, Field Studies BranchRespiratory Health DivisionNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

JACK GILBERT, PHDProfessor, Department of SurgeryUniversity of Chicago

DIANE GOLD, MDProfessor, Department of Environmental HealthHarvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health

JESSICA GREEN, PHDAlec and Kay Keith Professor of BiologyFounding Director, Biology and the BuiltEnvironment (BioBE) CenterUniversity of Oregon

CHARLES HAAS, PHDLD Betz Professor of Environmental EngineeringHead, Department of Civil, Architectural andEnvironmental EngineeringDrexel University

MARK HERNANDEZ, PHD, PEProfessorDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Architectural EngineeringUniversity of Colorado, Boulder

ROBERT HOLT, PHDEminent ScholarArthur R. Marshall, Jr. Chair in Ecological StudiesUniversity of Florida

RONALD LATANISION, PHDSenior FellowExponent

HAL LEVIN, BArchResearch ArchitectBuilding Ecology Research Group

VIVIAN LOFTNESS, MA, FAIA, LEED AP University ProfessorSchool of ArchitectureCarnegie Mellon University

KAREN NELSON, PHDPresidentJ. Craig Venter Institute

JORDAN PECCIA, PHDAssociate Professor of Chemical and Environmental EngineeringYale University

ANDREW PERSILY, PHDChief, Energy and Environment DivisionNational Institute of Standards and Technology

JIZHONG ZHOU, PHDGeorge Lynn Cross Research ProfessorDepartment of Microbiology and Plant BiologyDirector, Institute for Environmental GeneticsUniversity of Oklahoma

NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE STAFF

KATHERINE BOWMAN (Study Director)Senior Program OfficerBoard on Life Sciences(P) (202) 334-2638(E) kbowman@nas.edu

ELIZABETH BOYLEProgram OfficerBoard on Environmental Studies and Toxicology(P) (202) 334-2228(E) eboyle@nas.edu

DAVID BUTLERScholarInstitute of Medicine(P) (202) 334-2524(E) dbutler@nas.edu

ANDREA HODGSONPostdoctoral FellowBoard on Life Sciences(P) (202) 334-3138(E) ahodgson@nas.edu

JENNA OGILVIEResearch AssociateBoard on Life Sciences(P) (202) 334-1348(E) jogilvie@nas.edu

CAMERON OSKVIGDirectorBoard on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment(P) (202) 334-2663(E) coskvig@nas.edu

PROCTOR REIDDirectorNational Academy of Engineering Program Office(P) (202) 334-2467(E) preid@nae.edu

FRANCES SHARPLESDirectorBoard on Life Sciences(P) (202) 334-2187(E) fsharples@nas.edu

 

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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Rachel Adams, University of California, BerkeleyRachel Adams joined the Taylor lab in February of 2004 as a Staff Research Associate. In August 2005, she pursued a PhD in Biology at Stanford, which she received in March 2011. There she studied the interplay between intraspecific diversity and species interactions in communities. Dr. Adams has since returned to Berkeley in March 2011 as a post doctoral fellow in the Bruns and Taylor labs and is currently a Project Scientist within the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Adams earned a BS in Biology from Georgetown University.

Brandon “Bubba” Brooks, University of California, BerkeleyBrandon “Bubba” Brooks is a graduate student in Jill Banfield’s lab at the University of California Berkeley, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. During his thesis he has mainly focused on microbes thriving in the built environment and how they affect the human microbiome. Using high-throughput sequencing and other “omics” technologies, he has characterized these interactions by using infants housed in a neonatal intensive care unit as a model system. Bubba is the recipient of the National Science Foundation GRFP, UC Berkeley’s Chancellor’s Fellowship, and is largely funded by the Alfred P. Sloan foundation for his work on the built environment.

Pieter Dorrestein, University of California, San DiegoPieter Dorrestein is an associate Professor at the University of California - San Diego. He is the Director of the Therapeutic Discovery Mass Spectrometry Center and a Co-Director, Institute for Metabolomics Medicine in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Departments of Pharmacology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry. Dr. Dorrestein was trained by Tadgh Begley in the chemical biology of enzymes involved in vitamin biosynthesis and by Neil Kelleher and Christopher Walsh, whom were co-sponsors of his NRSA postdoctoral fellowship, in Top and Middle down mass spectrometry on proteins that made small molecules of therapeutic value. Since his arrival to UCSD in 2006, Dr. Dorrestein has been pioneering the development of mass spectrometry methods to study the chemical and ecological crosstalk between populations of organisms for agricultural, diagnostic and therapeutic applications. He has published over 120 articles and is the recipient of several awards, including the Beckman foundation young investigators award, the NIH EUREKA, Lilly award in analytical chemistry, the V-foundation, Hearst foundation, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Award, and the Matt Suffness Award. In addition he is a technological and research advisor/consultant for INDICASET, Janssen, Agraquest-Bayer, CUBIST and Sirenas Marine Discovery.

Sarah Evans, Michigan State UniversitySarah Evans is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University and the Kellogg Biological Station. Her lab studies how microscopic organisms (bacteria, fungi and archaea) function and respond to their environment, including how they respond to disturbances and stress, and what factors alter the diversity of microbial communities. Dr. Evans received her PhD in Ecology from Colorado State University and her BA in Biology from Grinnell College.

M. Patricia Fabian, Boston UniversityDr. Fabian combines her expertise in environmental health, environmental engineering, systems science, and geographical information systems (GIS) to study multi-stressor public health problems. She is currently a project lead in the Center for Research on Environmental & Social Stressors in Housing Across the Life Course (CRESSH), applying geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial analytical methods to quantify and describe environmental health disparities across Massachusetts communities, and building cumulative risk models across the life course. Ongoing projects include developing systems science models linking housing, lung function, and asthma outcomes; constructing land use regression models to estimate historical air pollution exposure; developing cumulative exposure models at a Superfund site; and applying spatial statistical methods to study the combined effect of chemical and non-chemical exposures on pediatric neurodevelopmental outcomes. Dr. Fabian received an ScD from the Harvard School of Public Health and an MS from the University of Colorado.

Robin Guenther, Perkins+WillRobin Guenther is a Principal of Perkins+Will and Senior Advisor to Health Care Without Harm. An expert in sustainable healthcare design, Robin is a long-time advocate for healthier healing environments and recently spoke on the topic at TEDMED 2014. Notable projects include leading the major expansion of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, and ongoing work with preeminent institutions such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Robin also led one of the two winning teams in the Kaiser Permanente “Small Hospital, Big Idea” Competition. Healthcare Design magazine named her the “#1 Most Influential Designer in Healthcare” and she co-coordinated the “Green Guide for Health Care,” the most commonly used method of tracking sustainability in healthcare spaces today. She released the second edition of Sustainable Healthcare Architecture in 2013 and Fast Company named her as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business.”

Janet Jansson, Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryJanet Jansson is the Division Director of Biological Sciences at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She is also PNNL’s sector manager for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research’s Biological Systems Science Division. Before coming to PNNL (June 2014) she was a senior staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2007-2014) and headed the Ecosystems Biology Program for the Earth Sciences Division at the Berkeley Lab. She also held Adjunct Professor positions at UC Berkeley and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, from 2012-2014. Dr. Jansson obtained her Ph.D. in 1988 at Michigan State University and then established a successful research career in Sweden over the next 20 years. From 2000-2006 she was Professor and Chair of Environmental Microbiology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Vice Dean of the Natural Sciences Faculty, where she coordinated “The Uppsala Microbiomics Center,” a Swedish strategic national center of excellence. Dr. Jansson is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, has more than 100 publications and is the editor of two books on molecular microbial ecology and a textbook on soil microbiology. She currently servesa s the President of the International Society for Microbiology (ISME) and as a senior editor of the ISME Journal.

Rob Knight, University of California, San DiegoRob Knight is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, with an additional appointment in the Department of Computer Science, at the University of California San Diego. He was chosen as one of 50 HHMI Early Career Scientists in 2009, is a Senior Editor at the ISME Journal, a member of the Steering Committee of the Earth Microbiome Project, and a co-founder of the American Gut Project.

Jay Lennon, Indiana UniversityJay Lennon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Indiana University. Dr. Lennon’s lab studies the ecology and evolution of microbial communities, including the factors that generate and maintain microbial biodiversity. His research focuses on understanding the implications of microbial diversity for ecosystem functioning, ecosystem processes, and microbial traits. Dr. Lennon received a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Dartmouth College, an MA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of Kansas, and a BS in Environmental Forest Biology from SUNY-ESF at Syracuse.

Linsey Marr, Virginia TechLinsey C. Marr is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. She received a B.S. in Engineering Science from Harvard and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Marr’s research focused on the effect of air quality on human health, the environmental effects of manufactured nanomaterials, and the airborne transmission of infectious diseases. She received the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award in 2013 and the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award in 2006.

Jennifer Martiny, University of California, IrvineJennifer Martiny received her B.S. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution at UC San Diego. She completed her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at Stanford University, studying diversity patterns and conservation biology of birds, butterflies, and flies with Drs. Paul Ehrlich and Gretchen Daily. At some point, she became intrigued by the idea that most ecological theory ignored microorganisms, which make up the vast amount of biodiversity on the planet. She joined Dr. Brendan Bohannan’s lab as a postdoctoral researcher and then moved to Brown University, where she established her own lab. In 2006, she moved to her current position at UC Irvine in the Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Dr. Martiny has received several awards, including a CAREER award from NSF and a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Junior Investigator Award. She has published more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mark Mendell, California Department of Public HealthMark Mendell, Ph.D., is an Air Pollution Research Specialist at the California Department of Public Health. Dr. Mendell is on the editorial board of the journal Indoor Air and a member of the International Academy of Indoor Air Sciences. He was formerly at the Centers for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, where he was head of the National Occupational Research Agenda Team on Indoor Environments. Dr. Mendell holds a BA from Cornell University; a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon; and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health. Dr. Mendell has worked for 20 years in the field of environmental epidemiology, focused on health effects related to indoor environments in buildings. His work includes field research to help understand relationships between specific factors and conditions in buildings and health effects in occupants, and critical reviews of the literature that summarize what we know, how well we know it, and what we do not know, about specific environment/health relationships in buildings. His research interests include health risks associated with buildings, ventilation systems, moisture, and microbial growth; effects of indoor environments in schools on health and performance of students, and effects of indoor chemical exposures in residences on asthma and allergies.

Shelly Miller, University of Colorado Shelly Miller is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and a faculty member of the interdisciplinary Environmental Engineering Program at CU. Dr. Miller’s research interests lie in indoor air quality, health effects, sources and exposure to particulate air

pollution, and development and evaluation of indoor air quality control measures. Her current research projects include assessing and designing engineering controls such as filtration and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation for improving indoor environmental quality, reducing building energy consumption and improving health, source apportionment of PM2.5 and association with health effects, association of coarse particles with health effects in urban and rural areas, characterization of indoor environmental quality in homes, characterizing ultrafine particles that penetrate into mechanically ventilated buildings, understanding the microbiology of the built environment, studying how HVAC systems play a role in infectious disease transmission, and identifying sources of air toxins and noxious odors in urban communities. Dr. Miller has received funding for her research program from the U.S. EPA, HUD, CDC, NIOSH, NSF, NIH, ASHRAE, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and various private foundations and industry sponsors. Dr. Miller received the Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow from the University of Colorado in 1996. In 2000, she received an Environmental Achievement Award from the US EPA Region 8 for her work assessing indoor air quality in schools. Dr. Miller received a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Tiina Reponen, University of CincinnatiTiina Reponen received her M.S. degree in Environmental Hygiene in 1985 and her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences in 1994 from the University of Kuopio in Finland. Since starting her research career in 1985, she has studied a diversity of indoor air particles, such as fungal spores, bacteria and total dust, and gases, such as formaldehyde and radon. During 1990-94, she was involved in several large-scale projects dealing with fungal spore exposure and the consequent health effects in homes, day-care centers, hospitals and several occupational environments. The studies involved microbiologists, epidemiologists, medical doctors and civil engineers. Since 1987, she has published her findings in various national and international journals and presented them at national and international conferences in Finland, Sweden, England, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, China, Australia and the USA. While employed by the University of Kuopio as a researcher and lecturer, she participated in the teaching of the graduate courses in the Department of Environmental Sciences. After completing her Ph.D., she joined the University of Cincinnati in January 1995 as a Visiting Scholar. She was appointed as Associate Professor (1997) and Full Professor (2005) in the Department of Environmental Health in the University of Cincinnati. Her research efforts are now focused on the exposure assessment of biological and non-biological particles in indoor and industrial environments, physical and microbiological characterization of airborne actinomycete and fungal spores, the dispersion of bioaerosols under natural and laboratory conditions, and the control of airborne microorganisms by filtration. She is leading the exposure assessment team of a 5-year project on the interaction between traffic pollution and bioaerosols in the development of children’s atopy. Her long-term goal is to contribute towards better understanding and preventing the adverse health effects of bioaerosols. She is also involved in the teaching of graduate courses, and the research guidance of several M.S. and Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows.

John Taylor, University of California, BerkeleyJohn Taylor is a Professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Ecology at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Taylor’s lab studies the evolution of fungi to examine the basic patterns and processes of evolution; fungi for biofuels; and reverse-ecology by population genomics. Dr. Taylor received his PhD and MS from University of California, Davis. Dr. Taylor served as President of the International Mycological Association in 2011, and has served as a member of the editorial boards for IMAFungus and mBIO.

Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, University of OregonKevin Van Den Wymelenberg is an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon and is the Director of the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory in Eugene and Portland, OR. He has a PhD in the Built

Environment from the University of Washington. He teaches classes in daylighting, integrated design principles, energy performance in buildings, and design. Van Den Wymelenberg has consulted on several hundred new construction and major renovation projects with architects and engineers regarding daylight and energy in buildings since 2000. Five of these projects have been recognized with AIA’s Committee on the Environment Top 10 Awards and many others are LEED certified. He has presented at many conferences including IES National, LightFair International and Passive Low Energy Architecture. He has authored several papers and two books related to daylighting, visual comfort, and low energy design strategies. Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg served as Assistant and Associate Professor in the College of Art and Architecture in Boise from 2004-2015. He was the founding Director of the Integrated Design Lab in Boise (UI-IDL) and served there as professor from 2004-2015, completing over $7M in funded research and outreach in daylighting and energy efficiency for the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, United States Environment Protection Agency, Idaho Power Company, the New Buildings Institute and others. Kevin is the Chair of the IESNA’s Daylight Metrics Committee and co-author on IES document LM-83 that serves as partial basis for the LEED V4 Daylighting Credit.

Kasthuri Venkateswaran, NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryKasthuri Venkateswaran is a Senior Research Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Venkateswaran has been working in the fields of marine, food, and environmental microbiology for 32 years. He has applied his research in molecular microbial analysis to better understand the ecological aspects of microbes, while conducting field studies in several extreme environments such as deep sea (2,500 m), spacecraft (Mars Odyssey, Genesis, MER, Mars Express), assembly facility clean rooms (various NASA and ESA facilities), as well as the space environment in Earth orbit (International Space Station.) Dr. Venkateswaran holds a PhD in Marine Microbiology.

Michael Waring, Drexel UniversityMichael Waring is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) at Drexel University’s College of Engineering. Dr. Waring researches how to improve indoor air and environmental quality, as well building sustainability. Much of his focus is on indoor chemical reactions between oxidants and reactive organic gases that generate aerosols. For this research effort, he has been awarded a NSF CAREER Award and an ASRHAE New Investigator Award and Willis H. Carrier Award. He is also interested in novel ventilation strategies that improve IAQ for the lowest energy cost, as well as how indoor microbes respond to building operational states. He teaches courses on IAQ, building sustainability and HVAC systems, and fluid mechanics. Dr. Waring has been at Drexel since receiving his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009. He also received a M.S.E. in Environmental Engineering in 2006, a B.S.E in Architectural Engineering in 2005, and a B.A. in English (special honors) and Economics in 2000, all from UT-Austin. While a graduate student, Dr. Waring was in the first cohort of the NSF IGERT program in Indoor Environmental Science and Engineering and received the Harrington Dissertation Fellowship, which is the most prestigious fellowship awarded to a Ph.D. student at UT-Austin. He is an active member of the International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) and ASHRAE, for which he is the Chair of the Research Subcommittee for Technical Committee 2.4: Particulate Air Contaminants And Particulate Contaminant Removal Equipment. Michael currently advises one post-doctoral researcher and six Ph.D. students. He is a founding co-leader of the Drexel Building Science and Engineering Group (BSEG) with Drs. Jin Wen and Patrick Gurian, and he co-runs the Drexel Air Resources Research Lab (DARRL) with Dr. Peter DeCarlo. He also collaborates with many other researchers throughout the U.S. and the world.

TRAVEL GRANT RECIPIENTS

Christopher Benton, Microbiologist IV, Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory Supervisor, New Hampshire Public Health Laboratories

Humberto Cavallin, Professor, University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, School of Architecture Humberto Cavallin is a professor and researcher at the School of Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras, where he teaches courses on architectural design and theory. He received his Architecture degree from UNET in Venezuela (1990), a MSc in social psychology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1997), and PhD (2006) from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the University of Puerto Rico in 2004, and since then he has directed both the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs. Dr. Cavallin’s research interests include thinking and problem solving connected to the use of models for simulation and problem solving in design, as well as the study of the impact of tools, communication, and collaboration in the professional practice of design. To support those activities, he has worked on the development of hardware and software to augment the design process. Since 2012, Dr. Cavallin has been involved in the development of research leading to a better understanding of the presence of microorganisms in the built environment, and has been part of several research projects directed to the understanding of the impact of architecture and urbanization in the occurrence of the microbiome in indoor spaces.

Jonathan Coulter, Building Science Consultant III, Advanced EnergyJonathan Coulter is one of the senior technical team members in our residential group. He is skilled at helping others apply building science and business science to marketplace challenges in new and existing homes programs. He is also adept at sharing successes and lessons learned via industry-focused presentations and papers internationally.Expertise: Building Science, Consulting & Training, Field Testing, Diagnostics and Research, Regional and National Technical Committees, Alternative energy uses: Biodiesel, CFL’s, Electric Vehicles, Solar Water Heating, Solar PV

Jarrad Hampton-Marcell, Argonne National Laboratory

Erica Marie Hartmann, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern UniversityErica Marie Hartmann is an environmental microbiologist interested in the interaction between manmade chemicals and microbes. She was the first graduate of the interdisciplinary Biological Design PhD program at Arizona State University where she worked with environmental engineers to develop molecular methods to detect microbes in food, soil, and water samples. From there, she was awarded a Fulbright to study microbes that degrade the toxic, carcinogenic pollutants known as dioxins in France at the Commission for Atomic Energy. She began leading studies on the effects of antimicrobial chemicals on the microbes found in indoor dust at the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon and is currently continuing that work as an assistant professor at Northwestern University in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew J. Hoisington, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, United States Air Force AcademyLieutenant Colonel Hoisington is an Assistant Professor at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). In addition, he is the Environmental Engineering Division Chief, Deputy for Operations, and Department Advisor in Charge, chairs the USAFA Energy Working Group, and serves on the USAFA Installation Encroachment Management Team and Environmental Management System. LtCol Hoisington received his PhD from the University of Texas Austin under the supervision of Dr. Kerry Kinney and Dr. Jeffrey Siegel. During his PhD work, LtCol Hoisington studied the microbiome of the built environment in retail stores. He is a founding member of the Military and Veterans Consortium for Research & Education (MVM-CoRE) along with partners in Veteran Affairs, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Maryland. His research interests include the microbiome of the built environment, indoor air quality, and the intersection of those two topics with mental health. LtCol Hoisington is the principal investigator on the Alfred P. Sloan funded study on longitudinal integration of the personal and built environment microbiome. It is the largest non-DoD project in the history of the United States Air Force Academy and includes co-investigators Dr. Jack Gilbert (University of Chicago), Dr. Lisa Brenner (Director, VA MIRECC), Dr. Christopher Lowry (University of Colorado Boulder), and Dr. Kerry Kinney (University of Texas Austin). LtCol Hoisington has been recognized with numerous awards to include USAFA Outstanding Academy Educator, and Society of American Military Engineers national instructor of the year (Bliss Medal).

Yang-Seon Kim, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Juan P. Maestre, University of Texas at Austin

Gwynnne Mhuireach, PhD Student, Landscape Architecture, University of OregonGwynne is currently in the final phase of her PhD studies in Landscape Architecture, focusing on the influence of landscape design on the urban microbiome and concomitantly on the health of neighborhood residents. Also holding a B.S. in Biology and a Masters degree in Architecture, she hopes to continue her transdisciplinary work blending sustainable building and landscape design with scientific research.

Sepideh Pakpour, Postdoctoral Fellow, Broad Institute of Harvard and MITDr. Pakpour is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT. She received her PhD in 2016 from University of British Columbia, in the area of microbiology and the built environment. Her PhD research as part of the “Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD)” study provided a solid understanding of the ecological processes that influence the composition of biological assemblages (archaea, bacteria, fungi, animal) in indoor dust, and subsequently a better comprehension of relationships between architectural environment and indoor biome. Subsequently, results of her PhD formed the basis of a complementary collaborative research project that she initiated during her postdoctoral studies and is currently leading between Harvard School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of MIT. This study is leveraging a natural experiment that aims to investigate new relationships among indoor environmental performance (ventilation, temperature, relative humidity, noise, lighting, chemical and microbial components), human microbiome, and human metabolome. A unique aspect of her current research is establishing these relationships through a real-time transition of an architectural firm to a new biophilic-designed office space, where her design strategies aim to provide restorative benefits by bringing nature back in or by triggering the same physiological responses through simulating nature’s features.

Bharath Prithiviraj, Research Associate, Advanced Science Research Center of the City University of New York and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, New YorkI am trained as a microbial ecologist with experience in symbioses and microbial metagenomics. My doctoral training was from the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, www.mssrf.org affiliated to the University of Madras, Chennai, India. My doctoral work examined the ability of utilizing lichenized fungi as biosensors to ascertain air quality variation. During my post-doctoral training I worked at Prof. Rob Knight’s lab, Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder in 2011 and subsequently with Prof. Mark Hernandez at the Environmental Engineering department in CU Boulder. I was trained on bioinformatic analysis platforms for merging large scale ecological data with sequence information. Also, I was involved with assessments of microbial dynamics during disturbance events. Indoor air sampling to characterize bio-aerosols and their analysis using high-throughput sequencing technologies was a part of this experience. I was part of the same lab group that organized the Sloan Meeting on Microbiology of the Built Environment (MoBE) in Boulder, CO. I am currently affiliated with the Groffman and Cheng research groups at the Advanced Science Research Center, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College City University of New York (CUNY). We work along with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection www.nyc.gov/dep monitoring select green infrastructure sites, mainly for storm water capturing efficiency. Sampling from outdoor and indoor garden sites in the urban habitats of NYC provide an ideal opportunity to develop research that will address fundamental questions on carbon and nitrogen cycles, microbial communities and contaminant fate and transport. My research direction will serve to integrate the research interests of the three investigators in the areas of contaminants, microbial community diversity and bio-geochemical process rates. The proposed research would provide the first integrated assessment of contaminants, communities and process rates in green infrastructure sites across New York City. I have additional experience working for a non-profit called The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Inc., www.noble.org Oklahoma where I contributed to Phytobiome research harnessing the potential of bacterial endophytes in soils from the Southern Great Plains. Also, I am a current member of the MetaSUB International Consortium www.metasub.org and leading efforts to sample microbes from the metro trains in the city of Hyderabad, India.

Stephanie Richards, Payload Research Scientist, Kennedy Space Center, FloridaStephanie Richards is a Payload Research Scientist at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida. She provides Project Management and subject matter expertise for manifested life science spaceflight experiments destined for the International Space Station. Stephanie received her graduate degree at Florida Institute of Technology and her undergraduate degree at Florida Atlantic University. She has a Certificate in Advanced Project Management from Stanford University and will graduate with an MBA from University of Florida in 2018. Her research interest is in host-pathogen interactions and using systems biology approaches to elucidate transcriptional signatures that modulate cellular and humoral responses during infection. She is well-versed in the areas of molecular biology, microbiology, genomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics. Stephanie is also a member of the NASA GeneLab Science Working Group and National Association of Women MBAs chapter at UF. Additionally, she volunteers mentoring middle and high school students.

Yun Shen, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of MichiganYun is a postdoc research fellow in University of Michigan. She is working with Professor Lutgarde Raskin on abundance of drinking water pathogen in Flint. As a Sloan MoBE postdoc fellow, she will also work with both Professors Lutgarde Raskin and Linsey Marr on aerosolization of opportunistic drinking water pathogens in built environment. Yun received her PhD degree from University of

Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August 2016. Her PhD study focused on Legionella pneumophila transmission in drinking water distribution systems, which was co-advised by Professors Thanh Nguyen and Wen-tso Liu.

Arron Shiffer, PhD Student in The Caporaso Lab, The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona UniversityArron Shiffer is a PhD student working under the direction of Dr. Greg Caporaso at The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University. In the Caporaso Lab, we support and develop Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) and scikit-bio. We are involved in many microbiome studies from the human gut to the built environment. We are currently involved in a study looking at how physical activity affects the human gut microbiome called The Exercise Microbiome Project and a study assessing the bacterial and fungal growth effects of wetting drywall under different conditions. Arron has been in The Caporaso lab for three years now. Prior to that he worked for Teach For America as an Earth and Space and Astronomy teacher. Arron has an M.S. in Physics from University of California Riverside. He has B.S. in Physics, a B.S. in Astronomy and a B.A. in Philosophy all from Northern Arizona University.

Raghu Srinivasan, Assistant Researcher and Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hawaii at ManoaRaghu Srinivasan got his Masters (2005) and PhD (2010) in mechanical engineering from University of Hawaii at Manoa specializing in corrosion. He has won graduate book scholarship from NACE international and best poster awards in NACE 2006 and Army Corrosion Summit 2008 conferences. Since his PhD he is been employed as an assistant researcher at the Hawaii Corrosion Lab, University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research interests are atmospheric corrosion, microbiological induced corrosion, and materials compatibility.

Connie Tzou, Graduate Research Assistant, University of WashingtonConnie Tzou became fascinated with the intersection between public health and microbes following a high school internship in waterborne pathogens. Her interest quickly expanded to include the built environment when she joined a research project looking at mold growth in urban houses of low-income asthmatic children in Cleveland, OH. After the completion of that study, Connie has dedicated herself to studying microbes in the home. Currently, Connie is working on completing her doctoral dissertation by looking at non-tuberculous mycobacteria growth in point-of-use sources in the homes of pulmonary disease patients and their healthy controls. In her free time, she also volunteers with the American Lung Association as a Master Home Environmentalist by conducting home health assessments in the Seattle-area. In the future, Connie hopes to connect the progress made in research about microbes in the built environment to applied practices. Connie earned her Bachelors and Master of Public Health from Case Western Reserve University and is currently pursuing her PhD in Environmental Health (Environmental and Occupational Hygiene) at the University of Washington’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

Christine Uebel-Niemeier, University of Cincinnati

Helen Wasielewski, Postdoctoral Scholar, Arizona State UniversityI am an anthropologist, postdoc at Arizona State University, and co-director of the ASU Microbiome & Behavior Project. Currently, I am running experimental lab studies on eating behavior in relationship to the gut and oral microbiome. My broader interests are in human cultural and social behavior as transmission modes for microbes – both pathogenic and commensal. Loss of access to green space and domesticated animals affect the assembly of the microbiota during development, and are therefore implicated in the development of population-level differences in health outcomes.

On the human behavior side, I am interested in understanding how we acquire beneficial microbes during social contact. We have some understanding of selective pressures on humans to avoid exposure to pathogens, through mechanisms such as disgust (leading to avoidance). Yet, we know little about the selective pressures that have may have shaped behavior or cultural practices with the function of incorporating necessary commensal species into our bodies. These questions are important for understanding major evolutionary transitions, and to understanding the health impacts of demographic shifts in current human populations.

Jennifer Western, Laboratory Manager, Saint Louis County Department of Public HealthJennifer Western received her Bachelors of Science in Chemistry at University of Missouri-Saint Louis. She started her laboratory career at a filtration company performing physical testing on filter media and gravimetric testing on coolant samples. In 2001, Jennifer began working at Saint Louis County Department of Public Health as a Chemist in the Environmental Analysis Laboratory and then in the Environmental Radiochemistry Laboratory. Jennifer was promoted to Laboratory Supervisor and on to Environmental Health Laboratory Manager. The scope of Environmental Health Laboratory’s testing includes environmental lead, indoor and outdoor aeroallergens, radionuclides in drinking water, and microbiology in water and milk. Jennifer is responsible for the operation of four laboratory sections, assures accuracy and quality of analytical results, and oversees compliance with six laboratory accreditations. Jennifer is a member of the American Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and The National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference Institute (TNI).

TRAVEL GRANTEE POSTER ABSTRACTS

Poster #1Effect of Early Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution on the Bacterial and Fungal Respiratory MicrobiomeAuthors: Christine Uebel-Niemeier1, Atin Adhikari2, Patrick Ryan3, Tiina Reponen1

1 Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio2 Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia3 Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

Exposuretotraffic-relatedairpollution(TRAP)hasbeenassociatedwiththeexacerbationofexisting asthma and the incident asthma of young and adolescent children. Particulate matter found inTRAPhasthepotentialtocausedamage,inflammation,andoxidativestressintherespiratorytract. Damage to the respiratory epithelial tissue has been demonstrated to affect the adherence ofbacteriatothelungs.Therefore,exposuretoTRAPmayaffectthemicroflorathatpersistintherespiratorytract,playingaroleinthedevelopmentofasthma.Thisinvestigationhypothesizesthatexposuretotraffic-relatedairpollutionearlyinlifesignificantlyaltersthediversityofmicroorganismsinthelowerrespiratorytractinchildrenandthiseffectpersiststoearlyadolescence.Fortychildren,ages12-16,willberecruitedfromtheCincinnatiChildhoodAllergyandAirPollutionstudy,abirthcohortwithwell-characterizedexposureandhealthhistory,andthendividedintotwogroups,highandlowexposure,basedonaprioriTRAPexposuredata.Sputumsampleswillbecollectedandusedtocharacterizethebacterialandfungalmicrobiomeofthelowerrespiratorytract.BothIlluminaMiSeqandqPCRwillbeutilized.Environmentalsamplesfromthehomesofthechildrenwillalsobecollected for comparison.

Poster #2How to prevent manmade chemicals from adversely affecting the microbial worldAuthor: Erica Marie Hartmann

Theworld–asmicrobesperceiveit–iscomposedofphysicalandchemicalstimuli.Thesestimulicreateconditionsthatresultinlifeordeathformicrobes,affectingtheirsurvivalwithincommunitiesandchangingthebehaviorsorphenotypesofsurvivingcommunitymembers.Humanshavemanipulatedthemicrobiallandscapethroughchemistry,affectingthesurvivalandbehaviorofthemicrobesinandaroundus.Forexamplebyproducingbioactivechemicalssuchasantibioticdrugsandantimicrobialadditives,wehaveinducedchangesinthestructuresandfunctionsofmicrobialcommunitiesinthehumanbodyaswellasintheenvironmentbyfavoringtheproliferationofcertainmicrobesoverothersandselectingfortraitslikeantibioticresistance. Becauseitisanengineeredsystem,thebuiltenvironmentpresentsuniqueopportunitiestocontrolmicrobialoutcomes.Tolimitadverseeffectsandpromotethepresenceofbeneficialmicrobes,mywork1)identifiesmicrobesinthebuiltenvironmentrelativetothechemicalstimulitheyencounter,2)characterizesmicrobialphenotypesthatmayresultfromchemicalstimuli,and3)exploresalternativedesignstrategiesandmaterialschoicesthatcouldprotecthumanhealthbothdirectlyandthroughtheintermediaryofthebuiltenvironmentmicrobiome. Theconsequencesofsyntheticchemicalsarewidespread,andastheymovefromproduction

tohumanusetotheenvironment,theyarehavinglastingandunanticipatedimpacts.Bycriticallyevaluatingthechemicalproductsweuseinthebuiltenvironment,wecanlessentheglobalburdenofchemicalpollutionwhileeffectivelycontrollingthemicrobialcommunitiesweencountereveryday.

Poster #3Relationship between human and environmental microbiome in how environmental microbiome colonizes human microbiomeAuthor: SepidehPakpour

Severalpaststudieshaveinvestigatedhowcomplexindoormicrobiomeisshaped;however,thedegreetowhichthebuiltenvironmentmicrobiomecolonizesthehumanmicrobiomeisnotcleartodateandlittleisknownatthedetailedmolecularlevelonthedynamicsof‘humanmicrobiome’and‘humanmetabolome’whiletheindoormicrobiomeandindoorenvironmentalquality(IEQ)indicatorsvary.Inthiscasestudy,wewilltakeadvantageofanaturalexperimentbyaccessinganewofficespaceinahigh-riseinNewYorkCitybeforeduringandafteroccupantsmoveintothespace.Further,thearchitecturalfirmthathasdesignedthisspaceiscommittedtobiophilicdesignsuchthattheofficespacehasthreedistinct,outdoorpatioswithdifferingflora,whereweexpectwilldifferentiallyinfluencethemicrobialcommunityintheofficeastheseasonschange.Weproposetosimultaneouslymonitorchangesinenvironmentalandhumanmicrobiomeovertime,aftertheoccupancyofthenewindoorspaceandaftertheintroductionofgreenspace,inordertounderstandthetimingofcriticalchangesinmicrobialcolonizationandtheinteractionsbetweenenvironmentalandhumanmicrobes.Wewillalsomeasureindoorenvironmentalqualityprofilesandsurveytheoccupantstoexploretheassociationofbothchemicalandmicrobialexposurewithoccupanthealthandmentalconditions.Resultsofthiscasestudyareexpectedadvanceourunderstandingoftheurbanbuiltenvironmentandbiophilicdesignonthehumanandenvironmentalmicrobiomeandwouldbethebasisforalargerfollow-upstudies.

Poster #4New Construction Energy Efficiency Programs in the United States - Lessons Learned from Two Quality Management ProgramsAuthor: Jonathan Coulter

Theobjectiveofthispaperistocomparetwohighperformance[1]newconstructionqualitymanagementprograms,ENERGYSTARandGuaranteedPerformancehomesco-locatedinPhoenix,Arizona,USA,anddetermineifhomesinthesetwogroupscouldbedistinguishedfromeachotherintermsofactualsummer/coolingenergyusageorhomeownersatisfactionrelatedtotheHVACsystemscomparedtoBaselinehomes.Thesummer/coolingenergyusestudysurveyed7,141houses,ofwhich3,336wereBaselinehomes,2,979wereENERGYSTARhomesand826wereGuaranteedPerformancehomes.Theonsiteverificationprocesstoconfirmcompliancetobothoftheseabovecodeprogramswascompletedbythesamequalifiedcertifiedexpert,anationallyrecognizedHERSRater.StatisticallyvalidenergydatashowsthatENERGYSTARhomessaved,onaverage,16%insummer/coolingenergyuse(kWh/m²)ascomparedtothetypicalBaselinehomes.TheGuaranteedPerformancehomessaved,onaverage,33%insummer/coolingenergyuseovertheBaselinehomesandsaved20%comparedtoENERGYSTARhomes.Duringthespringandsummerof2005,thehomeownersatisfactionstudywasadministeredto708housesfromthesame7,141housesampleset.Thissecondstudyfoundthat49%oftheGuaranteedPerformancehomeownerssaidtheywerecompletelysatisfiedwiththeirhome’s“abilitytokeepthemcomfortableyearround”comparedto35%ofENERGYSTARhomeownersandonly27%ofBaselinehomeowners.Infact,thissurveyfoundthatGuaranteedPerformancehomeownersweremoresatisfiedwitheveryaspectoftheirhome’sHVACperformance―yearroundcomfort,thefreshnessofairinsideofthehouse,evennessoftemperaturesfromroomtoroom,reliabilityandcoolingcostcomparedtoBaselineand

ENERGYSTARhouses[2].CombiningtheresultsfromthesetwostudiesshowsthattheenhancedqualitymanagementapproachusedbytheGuaranteedPerformancehomesprogramconsumeslessenergythancomparableENERGYSTARorcode-builthomeswhilesimultaneouslyimprovinghomeownersatisfaction.

Poster #5The Role of Biofilms in Legionella pneumophila Transmission in Drinking Water Distribution SystemsAuthor: YunShen

Legionella pneumophila, causativeagentofLegionnaires’disease,isthemostcommonlyreportedpathogenindrinkingwaterleadingtodiseaseoutbreaksinUnitedStates.Biofilmsindrinkingwaterdistributionsystems(DWDS)orpremiseplumbingsystemscouldfacilitatetransmission of the pathogenic L. pneumophila, thus raise human health concerns. L. pneumophila cellscanaccumulateinbiofilms,beprotectedfromdisinfectionbybiofilms,andthenbereleasedfrombiofilmsunderdrinkingwaterflow.Biofilmproperties(e.g.,physicalstructureandmechanicalstiffness)playanimportantroleduringthisL. pneumophilatransmissionprocess.However,howthebiofilmpropertiescontroltheL. pneumophilatransmissionandwhatfactorsinDWDSdeterminebiofilmpropertiesisstillunclear.Therefore,thisresearchaimedto1)identifythekeyfactorscontrollingbiofilm-associatedL. pneumophila accumulation,persistence,andrelease;and2)investigatehowthebiofilmstructural,mechanical,andchemicalpropertiesvaryinresponsetoacomplexDWDSenvironment. First,thisstudydiscussedtheeffectofbiofilmroughnessonL. pneumophila adhesion to andreleasefromsimulateddrinkingwaterbiofilms.Thebiofilmroughnesswasprovedtoenhancethe adhesion of L. pneumophila tobiofilmsandpreventthereleaseofL. pneumophila from biofilms.Next,theeffectofdisinfectantexposure,asanimportantparameterofdrinkingwaterquality,onbiofilmstructureandstiffnessaswellasthecorrespondingL. pneumophila release and inactivationwasidentified.Thebiofilmswerefoundtobestiffenedafterlong-termdisinfection.Thosestiffenedbiofilmsprovidedlessprotectionforthebiofilm-associatedL. pneumophila against disinfectantexposure.Lastly,theroleofdrinkingwaterscalingcontrol(e.g.,hardnessreductionandscaleinhibitorapplication)onthechemicalcomposition,structure,andstiffnessofbiofilmswasinvestigated.Applyingthescalecontroltowatersourcediminishedcalciumcarbonateprecipitationinsidebiofilmsandreducedbiofilmstiffness,thusmayincreasetheriskofbiofilm-associatedpathogen release. Thisresearchcomprehensivelyinvestigatedtheaccumulation,disinfection,andreleaseofL. pneumophilaassociatedwithbiofilmsunderthecontinuousdrinkingwaterflowanddisinfectantexposureconditions,whichbestmimickedtheL. pneumophila transmissioninDWDSinpractice.Theresultsofthisstudyhighlightedtherelationbetweenbiofilms,pathogens,anddrinkingwater,thusshedlightononriskassessmentandpathogencontrolinDWDS.

Poster #6Preliminary Exploration of Absolute Bacterial and Fungal Load in Response to Drywall WettingAuthors: ArronShiffer1,BabakKhamsehi2,PhilFan2, Jill Hager Cocking1, Talima Pearson1, J. Gregory Caporaso1,JeffreySiegel21NorthernArizonaUniversity,DepartmentofBiologicalSciences,2UniversityofToronto,DepartmentofCivilEngineering

Foraslongastherehavebeenbuildings,therehavelikelybeendampnessandmoistureproblems,andassociatedmicrobiologicalactivityinindoorenvironments.Theprevalenceandseverityofmoistureproblemsareincreasinginmanypartsoftheworld,andmanymodern

building materials and building designs are more prone to moisture problems than traditional buildingmaterialsandbuildingdesigns.Inadditiontothesocietal,economic,environmental,andhealth-relatedconsequencesofmoistureproblems,therearekeygapsinourunderstandingofthemechanisticdetailsofmoistureandmicrobiologicalgrowthindoorsthatlimitourabilityto understand the indoor microbiome, design better buildings, and explore the associations betweendampnessandhealth.Incombination,theanswerstothesequestionsprovideanuancedunderstandingoftheassociationbetweenwettingandmicrobiologyincommonandcomplexbuildingmaterialsandbuildingassemblies.Theoverallgoalsofthisprojectaretoprovidebothmethodologicalinsight(i.e.,exploringdifferentapproachesforanalyzingmicrobialsamplestocharacterizemicrobialcommunitiesandformeasuringmoistureandhumidityunderwettingconditions)andphenomenologicalinsight(i.e.,assessingtherelationshipbetweenmoisture/otherbuilding science parameters and the composition, dynamics and succession of fungal and bacterial communities). Ourstudyisfocusedonthewettingandsubsequentenvironmentalandmicrobiologicalmonitoringofdrywallsamples.Sevenmoisturesensorswereutilizedtosystematicallycomparedifferentmeasurementapproachesandtounderstandthedynamicsofmoisturetransport.Weappliedthesesensorstogeneratemicro-environmentaldataatthesurfaceofdrywallsamples,includingRH,ERH,andmoisturecontent.Thiswillallowustoestablishwhichsensor(s)andmeasurement(s)aremostpredictiveofmicrobialgrowth.Theexperimentusesfourdifferenttypesofdrywall(painteddrywall,unpainteddrywall,moistureresistantdrywall,andhighporositydrywall),whichundergodifferentwettingregimes,whichwerefertoas“typical”(10mLofwateraddedonetime),“fullycovered”(20mLofwateraddedonetime),and“repetitive”(10mLofwateraddedevery3-4days).WeadditionallyvarythewatersourcetoincludeDNAfreewater,tapwater,andrain.Drywallundereachoftheseconditionswassampledunderdifferentindoorclimaticconditions“summer”(RH55%)and“winter”(RH35%)andatdifferenttimepointsincludingpriortowetting(time0)andfrom1to28dayspost-wetting. Wenextassessedbacterialandfungalload(numberofcells)undereachofthesedifferentconditions.ThesampleswereobtainedusingTeflonstripsandaspecificallydesignedmicrobiomesamplerthatappliesconstantforceandwipedisplacement,independentoftheuserperformingthesampling.Thisensuresthatequivalenteffortisalwaysappliedinsamplingthemicrobialdiversityonourdrywallsamples,whichisessentialforquantificationofmicrobialload.TheTeflonstripsthenhadbacterialandfungalDNAextractedandquantifiedusingtheBactQuantandFungiQuantquantitativePCR(qPCR)techniques.Wehavenowappliedthesetwoprocessesto42samplesinthreeroundsofqPCRtodevelopthemethodology.Thesepreliminaryexperimentssuggestthatbacterialloadishigherthanfungalload,whichislikelyduetothefactthatbacterialgrowthisgenerallyfasterthanfungalgrowth,howeverbiomassisverylowinbothcases.Ourdatasuggeststhatwateramountdoesnotchangebacterialbiomassmuch,whileitdoesinfluencefungalbiomassmore.However,forrepeatedsamplesundertheexactsameconditionswedoobserveconsiderableamountsofvariationinqPCRresults(relativetosampleswhichhaveexperienceddifferentconditions),andwearecurrentlyexploringthesourceofthisvariation. Due to the small number of samples in our preliminary microbial analyses, conclusions fromourcurrentdataandplotsabouttheeffectsoftime-periodofwetting,thetypeofwetting,typeofwater,season,anddrywalltypeareinconclusive.Wenextplantofocusonsampleswhereweexpecttoobtainmorebiomass,specificallythosethathavebeenmorewetforlongerperiodsoftimes.Toobtainmoresamplesundertheseconditions,wewilllikelyfocusonlyontapwater,andonour“repetitive”wettingregime.Whensufficientbiomassisobtained,wewilladditionallyapplymicrobiomesequencingtoprofilethecompositionofthefungalandbacterialcommunitiesonourdrywallsurfaces.

Poster #7BioBE: Developing a Framework for Bioinformed DesignAuthor: GwynneMhuireach

TheBiologyandBuiltEnvironmentCenterattheUniversityofOregonisaconsortiumofscientistsanddesignersworkingtogethertoidentifyfactorsinfluencingmicrobialassemblageanddynamicsinthebuiltenvironment.Weseekwaystoapplyourfindingsinthecreationofhealthierandmoresustainablebuildingsandcities.Since2010wehavecompletedinterdisciplinaryresearchresultinginpublicationsspanningbiology,architecture,andenvironmentalscience.Inthisposterwehighlightmajorfindingsanddiscusstheirpracticalimplicationsforreal-worlddesign.

Poster #8Non-tuberculous mycobacteria colonization and its relationship to human disease Author: ConnieTzou

Thereisarisingpublichealthneedtounderstandtherolethebuiltenvironmentplaysinexposuretopathogens.Non-tuberculousmycobacteria(NTM),whichincludeMycobacteriumaviumcomplex(MAC),areopportunistichumanpathogensfoundinwaterandsoilenvironments,includingnaturalwaterandpremiseplumbingofbuildings.Point-of-usewatersourcesinthehomeareapotentialsourcefortheseenvironmentallyacquiredpathogens.MACisincludedontheUSEPA’sCandidateContaminantlistandisinneedoffurtherstudy.InfectionwithMACorothernon-tuberculousmycobacteria(NTM),canresultinopportunisticinfectionsandpulmonarydisease.MACpulmonarydisease(MAC-PD)isaconcernsinceitsprevalenceisontherise.Weconductedacase-controlstudyinvolvingWashingtonandOregonresidentswhohavebeendiagnosedMAC-PDandage-andgeography-matchedhealthycontrols.Casesandcontrolswereinterviewedandenvironmentalsampleswerecollectedfrommultiplepoint-of-usesitesintheirhomes,specifically,bathroomfaucets,kitchenfaucets,showeraerosols,indoorsoil,andoutdoorsoil.MACandotherNTMinthesampleswerequantifiedusingculture-basedmethodsfollowedbyPCR.Inaninitialanalysisoftheresults,meannumbersofNTMisolatesisolatedfromsamplesfromallcasehomes(N=70)andfromallcontrolhomes(N=61)werecompared.Forallhouseholdsitesexceptkitchenfaucets,greaternumbersofNTMisolateswereobservedincasehomesthanincontrolhomes.Thisdifferencewassignificant(p=0.046)forbathroomfaucets,andnearlysignificant(p=0.054)forshoweraerosol.Toourknowledgethisisthefirstcase-controlevidenceofacorrelationbetweenNTMcolonizationofhomesandhumandisease.

Poster #9Establishment of MVM-CoRE to analyze the intersection between microbiome of the built environment and mental healthAuthor: LtColAndrewJ.Hoisington

TheestablishmentoftheMilitaryandVeteranMicrobiomeConsortiumforResearch&Education(MVM-CoRE)inthepastoneandahalfyearshasledtoanincreaseawarenessofthepotentiallinksbetweenthemicrobiomeofthebuiltenvironmentandmentalhealth.MVM-CoREisamultidisciplinaryresearchteamthataimstoconductmicrobiomeresearchforthebenefitofmilitary,Veterans,andtheirfamilies.FoundingmembersoftheMVM-CoREincludeDr.LisaA.Brenner(Director,VeteranAffairsRockyMountainMentalIllnessResearchEducationandClinicalCenter&Professor,UniversityofColoradoDenver),Dr.ChristopherA.Lowry(AssociateProfessor,DepartmentofIntegrativePhysiologyandCenterforNeuroscience,UniversityofColoradoBoulder),Dr.TeodorT.Postolache(ProfessorofPsychiatry,UniversityofMarylandSchoolofMedicine),andDr.AndrewJ.Hoisington(AssistantProfessorofEnvironmentEngineering,UnitedStatesAirForceAcademy).Sincetheinceptionoftheprogram,thisgrouphasbeenawardedprojectstoconductlongitudinalstudies

ofthemicrobiomesofthebuiltenvironmentcadetoccupants,biofingerprinting,theuseofprobioticstoincreasestressresilienceinVeteranswithco-occurringmildtraumaticbraininjury(TBI)andposttraumaticstressdisorder(PTSD),andtheVeteranmicrobiome. ThelargeststudytodateisalongitudinalstudyofthemicrobiomesofthebuiltenvironmentandcadetoccupantsattheUnitedStatesAirForceAcademy(USAFA).InadditiontotheMVM-CoREteam,thisstudyincludesDr.JackGilbert(ProfessorinEcology&EvolutionandSurgery,UniversityofChicago),Dr.KerryKinney(ProfessorinEnvironmentEngineering,UniversityofTexasAustin),andDr.KatherineBates(AssistantProfessorinBiology,UnitedStatesAirForceAcademy.ThemajorobjectiveofthisstudyistoquantifytheimpactoflifestylehomogenizationonthedynamicmicrobialexchangebetweenpeopleandtheBE.Asecondaryaimofthisstudyistoinvestigatetheinfluenceofstressonthehumanandbuiltenvironmentmicrobiome.Diverseethnic,dietary,geographical,andsocioeconomicbackgroundsareconfoundingvariablesinmicrobiomeofthebuiltenvironmentstudies.ThisstudyusesUnitedStatesAirForcecadetstominimizetheseconfoundingfactorsandprovidebetterresolutiononthemethodbywhichthebuildingandmicrobiomechangesduetohumancontactandinteractions.Bycomparingfourmajorcohabitationlocations(foursquadrons),wewilldeterminethedegreetowhichoccupantlocationandinteractioninfluencesmicrobialdiversityandfunctionintheBE. Inthisstudy,wehaveover40cadetsintheirthirdyearatschoolthatjustreturnedfromsummerbreak.Wesampledthefirstfiveweeksofschool,twiceperweek.Microbiomesamplingincludedtheoutdoorenvironment,builtenvironment,andskinandandgutofoccupants.Wearealsomeasuringsalivarycortisolasabiomarkerofstressandweareusingmultiplesurveys,allattemptingtobetterunderstandstresslevelsinthecadets.Wewillsampleagainfortwoweeksattheendofthesemester(aperiodofhighstress)andafterthecadetsreturnfromwinterbreak.ThisstudyalsofundedthefirsteverDepartmentofDefense(DoD)microbiomesymposium,tobeheldatUSAFAinApril2017.AtthatsymposiumwewillgathermicrobiomeexpertsfromacademiaandtheDoDtodiscusstheneedsandfuturedirectionsformicrobiomeresearchtobenefitourmilitary,Veterans,andtheirfamilies. Anotherfundedstudyinvolvessmallscalesamplingoffacultymembersandfamiliesaimedatcharacterizingthebiofingerprintthatindividualsleavebehindandtherelationshipofthebiofingerprintmicrobialcommunitieswiththemicrobiomesoffamilymembers.Thegoalofthisresearch is to determine the imprint of the human bacterial microbiome on common surfaces in anofficeandhomeenvironments.Wewilldevelopapredictivemodellinkingthemicrobesofasurfaceandhumaninhabitantsforthepurposeofdeterminingwhoisthepredominateindividualinaspecificbuiltenvironment.Thisstudyinvolved35participantsandincludedbothhumanandbuiltenvironmentmicrobiomesamplingintheofficeandathome.Biofingerprintingcouldbebeneficialformilitarycommandersindeterminingwhomighthavebeeninanoccupiedspaceandhowlongithasbeensincetheywerelastthere. A third funded study that is currently in progress is the use of an immunoregulatory probiotic toincreasestressresilienceinVeteranssufferingfromco-occurringmildTBIandPTSD.Exaggeratedinflammationinthebodyandbrainisthoughttoplayaroleinthevulnerabilitytoandaggravationandperpetuationofadverseconsequencesamongthosewithco-occurringmildTBI(mTBI)andpost-traumaticstressdisorder(PTSD).Bylookingattheimpactofprobioticsupplementationonbiologicalsignaturesofincreasedinflammation,asreflectedbythegutmicrobiota,gutpermeability,andbiomarkersofperipheralinflammation,thisstudymayleadtotheidentificationofanovelinterventionforthetreatmentofsymptomsassociatedwiththesefrequentlyco-occurringconditions.Dr.Lowry’sgrouphasdemonstratedlong-lastingincreasesinstressresiliencefollowingimmunizationwithimmunoregulatorybacteriainamousemodelofPTSDandthispilotstudyoffortyVeteranswilldetermineifweseethesamephenomenoninhumans. Finally,wehavebegunsamplingVeteranoral,skin,andgutmicrobiomes.Thisstudycollectsmentalhealthdatafromindividualsjustpriortotheirsampling.Thestudydesignisbasedinpartoffthehumanmicrobiomeprojectbutwithfewersitesandadetailedmedicalhistoryfortheparticipants.WeanticipatetheseresultswillprovideabaselineformicrobiomeofVeterans,

especiallyinrelationtomentalhealthdisorders.Weexpecttosampleatleast500Veteransinthiseffort. Overall,weareexcitedaboutthepossibilityforcollaborativeresearchacrossdisciplines.Webelievebringingtogetheradiverseteamofresearcherswillbekeytounlockingfuturediscoveriesthatwillgreatlyincreaseknowledgeinthefieldandbenefitindividuals.Ourteamhaswrittenseveralarticlesontheconnectionsbetweenthemicrobiomeandmentalhealthandtheresearchprojectsdescribedabovewillcontributetoourknowledgeoftherelationshipbetweenthemicrobiomeofthebuiltenvironmentandmentalhealth.