April was a busy month at the BioBE Center! Read more about our recent activities below:
BioBE Center Director Jessica Green presented “Building Wellness: Creating Healthier Homes, Hospitals, and Offices with Microbiology” at the Heinz Distinguished Lecture Series hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering (April 5). She also presented at the Genomes Environments Traits (GET) Conference hosted at Harvard Medical School in Boston (April 25-27), contributing to Session II: Microbiomes, Health and the Built Environment along with Rob Knight (UCSD), Erika von Mutius (University of Munich) and Jack Gilbert (University of Chicago).
Senior Research Associate Jeff Kline presented “The Impact of Weatherization on Microbial Ecology and Human Health” with Scot Davidson of Enhabit at the 2016 ACI National Home Performance Conference & Trade Show in Austin, Texas (April 5). The following week, Kline and ORI research scientist Deb Johnson-Shelton presented a poster at the AIA Design and Health Research Consortium 2016 Convening held in Alexandria, Virginia (April 12-13). This project is a collaboration between the BioBE Center, Oregon Research Institute and Enhabit, and is funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
ESBL Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg and PhD student Gwynne Mhuireach presented “The impacts of design on energy and health in the built environment” to 50 7th-grade students at Ohara Elementary School in Eugene (April 12). The event included a 60-minute workshop with presentations and hands-on exercises.
Postdoc Roxana Hickey attended the Sloan Microbiology of the Built Environment Data Analysis Workshop in San Diego (April 3-5). The workshop was led by researchers from University of California San Diego and the Marine Biological Laboratory and featured training in QIIME, QIITA and VAMPS for analysis and visualization of built environment data. Hickey also attended the Northwest Biology Instructors Organization (NWBIO) Conference hosted by the University of Oregon and Lane Community College in Eugene (April 15-17).
Postdoc Erica Hartmann attended OA Strategic Leadership Conference at the University of Oregon (April 18). This one-day event featured sessions and networking opportunities designed to enhance professional development in the areas of management and strategic leadership.
Hartmann and Hickey attended the Sloan Early Career Workshop in Chicago (April 26-29). The workshop was hosted by researchers at the University of Chicago and featured a series of seminars by leading experts in microbial ecology, building science and architecture, followed by a team grant proposal writing activity. Check out tweets from the event under hashtag #mobeECW16.
The Green lab and BioBE Center hosted visiting graduate student Anders Nygaard from Oslo and Akershus University College in Norway. Anders met with Center members to learn about facilitating research between biologists, architects and engineers.