While microorganisms are found on surfaces, in the air, and throughout the water systems of buildings, the air is likely the most important medium for dissemination. The BIMERC group is working on understanding the microbial components of indoor air, including the identification of the source populations and illuminating the processes that suspend and disseminate microbes and microbial products in buildings.
The goals of this consortium are to:
1) Investigate the processes of microbial community assembly in the indoor environment
2) Understand the relationship between building design, external climate, and interior microbial community
3) Improve instrumentation to measure volatile, organic compounds derived from
microbes, microbial toxins, and allergens in indoor air
Principle Investigators:
Tom Bruns, University of California, Berkeley
Ed Arens, University of California, Berkeley
Allen Goldstein, University of California, Berkeley
Steve Lindow, University of California, Berkeley
Bill Nazaroff, University of California, Berkeley
John Taylor, University of California, Berkeley
Gary Anderson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
