Building science to advance research in the microbiology of the built environment (MoBE): Workshop Report and Meeting Transcript
Recent advances in DNA sequencing techniques that allow rapid, high-throughput characterization of taxonomic marker genes (e.g., 16S/18S rRNA and fungal ITS) and whole genomic DNA from environmental samples, coupled with the recognition that the majority of people in the developed world spend most of their lives indoors, have led to a rapid increase in the number of studies exploring microbial diversity within the built environment. Much of this recent work has been ignited by approximately $35 million in research funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s program on the Microbiology of the Built Environment (MoBE). While these recent studies have greatly increased our understanding of microbial community structure and composition on surfaces and in air within the spaces in which we live and work, most have been driven and led primarily by microbiologists with the building science community playing a supporting role. There remains a need to solicit input from expert building scientists, engineers, and other disciplines that make up the building science community on the overall effectiveness of these previous studies for advancing knowledge of microbial communities in the indoor environment, to identify existing gaps in these studies, and to inform a research agenda for future studies of the microbiology of the built environment that stems from deep knowledge of how buildings are constructed, operated, and occupied. Therefore, the workshop described herein, Building science to advance research in the microbiology of the built environment (MoBE), was designed to bring together a group of experts in building science and engineering with a smaller number of microbiologists and microbial ecologists to discuss existing gaps and future opportunities for research on the microbiology of the built environment. Goals of the workshop were to advance the MoBE program’s research goals and ultimately work towards increasing efficiency and impact among grantees by facilitating interdisciplinary discussions.
