Engineering indoor microbiomes to create sustainable indoor environments

加拿大人90%的时间都待在室内，暴露在各种各样的污染物中。在室内环境中暴露于霉菌和潮湿与哮喘、上呼吸道感染、咳嗽和喘息等负面健康影响高度相关。室内潮湿和发霉最常见于社会经济地位较低的社区，因为那里的住房质量较差，而且用于处理破坏性环境事件的资源较少。对于加拿大各地的土著社区来说，这个问题尤其紧迫，因为那里的住房质量不达标，而且容易受到气候变化的影响。随着气候的持续变化，洪水和潮湿的天气事件将会增加，导致更多的霉菌和潮湿的房屋。当湿度高时，真菌微生物（霉菌）可以在地毯灰尘中茁壮成长。不幸的是，在霉菌检测、预测和控制方面的进步是有限的。至关重要的是，我们要扩大对室内微生物组（室内环境中的微生物群落）的了解，以消除对健康的负面影响，并指导公平的室内空间设计。研究计划的长期目标是1)提高我们对室内真菌和细菌相互作用的基本理解，2)完成深入研究以限制微生物生长和环境暴露，3)提出解决方案和新方法来创造公平，可持续和健康的室内环境。为了实现这些目标，我的短期研究目标如下：1。开发和研究方法来模拟和预测由于湿度增加而导致的室内环境中的微生物生长。评估低社会经济地位和土著社区真菌生长预测模型，制定改善室内环境质量的策略通过RNA亚转录组学和生物信息学过程提高我们对室内真菌和细菌相互作用的理解，这项研究计划的结果将导致霉菌预测和将霉菌生长建模集成到建筑系统技术中的重要进展。作为了解如何控制室内微生物的重要一步，本研究将为减少室内有害霉菌的生长提供新的方法。新的抗微生物材料将被探索，有益微生物在室内环境中使用的知识将被扩展。本研究将由2名博士生、1名硕士生和约5名本科生完成，他们将获得建筑科学、环境工程和室内微生物研究方面的重要技能。由于气候变化不断破坏我们的建筑系统，增加了潮湿和霉菌的暴露，因此对高素质的建筑科学和室内微生物组专家（HQP）的需求非常迫切。这将使HQP能够满足劳动力的重要需求，并为公平和健康的建筑环境开发创新方法。

Canadians spend 90% of their time indoors, where they are exposed to a variety of contaminants. Exposure to mould and dampness in indoor environments is highly associated with negative health impacts such as asthma, upper respiratory infections, coughing, and wheezing. Indoor dampness and mould are found most frequently in low-socioeconomic status communities due to poor quality housing and less resources to deal with damaging environmental events. This issue is particularly pressing for Indigenous communities across Canada, where substandard housing is combined with vulnerability to climate change. As climate change continues, flooding and wet weather events will increase, causing more mould and dampness in housing. Fungal microorganisms (moulds) can thrive in carpet dust when humidity levels are high. Unfortunately, advancements in mould detection, prediction and control are limited. It is critical that we expand our knowledge of the indoor microbiome (the community of microbes in an indoor environment) to combat negative health outcomes and guide the design of equitable indoor spaces. The long-term goals of the research program are to 1) advance our fundamental understanding of fungal and bacterial interactions indoors, 2) complete in-depth studies to limit microbial growth and environmental exposures, and 3) produce solutions and new approaches to create equitable, sustainable, and healthy indoor environments. My short-term research objectives to achieve these goals are as follows: 1. Develop and investigate means to model and predict microbial growth in indoor environments due to increased moisture 2. Evaluate fungal growth prediction models in low-socioeconomic status and Indigenous communities to develop strategies for improving indoor environmental quality 3. Improve our understanding of indoor fungal and bacterial interactions through RNA metatranscriptomics and bioinformatics processes Results from this research proposal will lead to important advancements in mould prediction and the integration of mould growth modeling into building system technology. As an essential step in learning how to control indoor microbes, this research will lead to new methods for reducing harmful mould growth indoors. New anti-microbial materials will be explored and knowledge of the use of beneficial microorganisms in indoor environments will be expanded. This research will be accomplished by 2 PhD students, 1 MASc student and ~5 undergraduates who will gain significant skills in building science, environmental engineering, and indoor microbiology research. There is a critical need for highly qualified personnel (HQP) who are experts in both building science and the indoor microbiome particularly as climate change continues to wreak havoc on our building systems, increasing exposure to dampness and mould. This will position HQP to fill a significant need in the workforce and develop innovative approaches for equitable and healthy built environments.