Microbiomes of the Built Environment NAS Meeting Webcast 4/11 10:30-5 EST

This may be of interest:

Microbiomes of the Built Environment: From Research to Application

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are conducting a consensus study that will examine the formation and function of microbial communities in built environments, the impacts of such microbial communities on human health, and how human occupants shape complex indoor microbiomes. This study is intended to provide an independent, objective examination of the current state of science regarding built environment microbiomes and their impacts on human health, and then attempt to bridge gaps in moving this research to an application stage, in which building materials and architecture will be designed with microbiomes in mind. The study is being conducted by a committee of experts and the consensus report is expected to be released in 2017.

The study’s first public meeting will be held on April 11, 2016 in Washington, DC. You may view the webcast of the public sessions, to be held from 10:30am – 5:00pm EDT by clicking here.

Please direct any questions or comments to builtmicrobiome@nas.edu

This study is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

AGENDA

Monday, April 11
10:30am Welcome Public Observers and Study Sponsors Committee Member Introductions
What are microbiomes of built environments and why is the study topic a compelling one to address?
Joan Bennett, Committee Chair
10:45 Discussion of Statement of Task with Study Sponsors
Sponsoring organizations will provide perspectives on the context for the study, how the study relates to their missions, and what they see as key needs and challenges for understanding microbiomes in built environments. Invited speakers will each provide 10 minutes of opening remarks.
Paula Olsiewski, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Tina Bahadori and Laura Kolb, Environmental Protection Agency David Tomko, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lisa Chadwick, NIEHS, National Institutes of Health (remotely)
Committee Discussion with Sponsors
12:15 Lunch
1:30 Setting the Stage for the Study
Presentations will highlight developments and challenges in several background areas. Invited speakers will each give 15 minute presentations.
1:40 Built environment microbiome interfaces: Why is improving our understanding of these interactions an exciting topic and perspective on the eld?
Gary Andersen, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley
2:00 Understanding and modeling building systems: What’s known and how might these parameters impact indoor microbiomes?
Jelena Srebric, University of Maryland
2:20 Example of built environment microbiome studies and their potential human health links

Benjamin Kirkup, Naval Research Laboratory

2:40 Understanding microbes in water systems
Amy Pruden, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
3:00 Committee Discussion with Speakers 3:30 Break
Light snack will be provided
3:50 Further Discussion: Major Issues Relevant to the Study
Opportunity for committee members, sponsors, speakers, and meeting participants to further
discuss points raised during the presentations and to identify additional topical areas, gaps, or needs that may be relevant to the study’s statement of task.
4:30 Public Comment Period
Opportunity for meeting participants to share additional information or ideas they would like the committee to consider.
5:00 Meeting Adjourns

Apparently, the National Academy of Sciences thinks only one sex is qualified to talk about alternatives to sex #YAMMM

Just got this email from Francisco Ayala:

January 9-10, 2015 

In the Light of Evolution IX. Clonal Reproduction: Alternatives to Sex 

Organizers: Michel Tibayrenc, John C. Avise and Francisco J. Ayala 

Beckman Center of the National Academies, Irvine, CA 

Evolutionary studies of clonal organisms have advanced considerably in recent years, but are still fledgling. Although recent textbooks on evolution and genetics might give the impression that nonsexual reproduction is an anomaly in the living world, clonality is the rule rather than the exception in many viruses, bacteria, and parasites that undergo preponderant asexual evolution in nature. Clonality is thus of crucial importance in basic biology as well as in studies dealing with transmissible diseases. 

This Colloquium will bring together specialists in various disciplines, including genetics, evolution, statistics, bioinformatics, and medicine. A balance will be sought between the various disciplines, including clonal animals and plants, animal and human cloning, pathogens, and cancer studies.   

Registration is now open http://www.nasonline.org/programs/sackler-colloquia/upcoming-colloquia/ILE_IX_Clonal_Reproduction.html

Registration fee is $150. 

Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are eligible for discount fee of $100. 

All meals, break and reception refreshments listed on the agenda are included in the registration fee.
For more information, contact sackler@nas.edu.

Could be interesting right?  Alas, then, I clicked on the link.  And I discovered the meeting could also be referred to as "Only one sex talks about alternatives to sex".  Men are highlighted in yellow. Women highlighted in green. (Note - I am making some guesses as to gender but I think these are reasoably accurate).

My twitter notes from the #NASOneHealth meeting via Storify

I am posting here a wrap up of my notes from the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine Forum on Microbial Threats meeting on Improving Food Safety Through One Health I just attended. I made a little "story" via Storify and that is what I am embedding below. More comments to follow I hope but wanted to get this out there.