Microbiomes of the Built Environment A Research Agenda for Indoor Microbiology, Human Health, and Buildings (2017) / Chapter Skim
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6 Moving Forward: A Vision for the Future and Research Agenda
6 Moving Forward: A Vision for the Future and Research Agenda
Pages 219-236
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From page 219... ...
Since knowledge about the interactions among indoor microbiomes, human occupants, and built environments is not yet at an actionable level, this chapter lays out a vision for the future of buildings informed by microbial understanding and provides a research agenda for making progress toward achieving this vision. A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF THE FIELD: MICROBIOME-INFORMED BUILT ENVIRONMENTS In the committee's vision for the future, greater understanding of indoor environments will result in buildings that support a more productive, healthier population at lower cost and with reduced impacts on the outdoor environment.
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From page 220... ...
Researchers will have a much deeper understanding of the effects of indoor microbial communities on human health, and the connections among exposure, response, and health outcomes will be established. Scientists and practitioners will know how environmental microbial exposures result in physiologic responses linked to significant health impacts and will be able to quantify how these exposures are connected, in turn, to particular physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the built environment.
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From page 221... ...
The sources of microorganisms in buildings that impact human health and well-being positively or negatively will have been identified and understood. Not only will potentially beneficial and harmful microbes present in indoor environments have been identified, but their differential effects on humans of various ages, sexes, and health status will also be understood to inform building engineers and facilities managers about how to operate and maintain buildings to promote the health of their occu ants.p Once this knowledge base has been achieved, it will be possible to design, construct, operate, and maintain buildings in a manner that will reduce harmful microbes of concern while supporting building sustainability and health goals.
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From page 222... ...
Research will improve understanding of the impact of physical and visual connections to the outdoors, as well as the variability in temperature, light, airflow, and humidity provided by a connection with the outdoor environment. Building features and environmental connections that embrace the outdoors may contribute positively or negatively to healthful indoor environments and to the optimal management of indoor microbial communities.
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From page 223... ...
Also necessary is to go beyond current identification and characterization of microbial taxa in indoor environmental samples to provide greater understanding of microbial functional activities and to clarify whether and how built environment microbiomes impact human health. Agreement has not yet been achieved on standardized microbial and building data to collect; on sampling and analytical protocols; and on data-sharing practices, which would facilitate cross-comparison of results.
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From page 224... ...
And similarly, some microorgansims found even in damp or poorly maintained environments are likely to have no impact on human occupants. Continued work is needed to study what constitutes both harmful and healthful indoor microbiomes and to identify the aspects of building design and operation that affect microbial communities.
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From page 225... ...
A better understanding of the important building attributes and a clearer identification of microbial sources associated with potential harm or benefit can drive the generation of new hypotheses and the testing of interventions aimed at control of the sources and distributions of microbial communities. Sufficient understanding of these relationships is needed as a foundation for translating knowledge into advances in building design, commissioning, and maintenance practices; corresponding professional standards and building regulations; and future investments directed at monitoring and mitigating problems or promoting benefits.
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From page 226... ...
Assess the Influences of the Built Environment and Indoor Microbial Exposures on the Composition and Function of the Human Microbiome, on Human Functional Responses, and on Human Health Outcomes Future research to explore the composition and behavior of icrobiomes m of the built environment will be critical to identifying qualities or states of built environment microbial communities that lead to healthful indoor environments for building occupants. To make substantial progress toward this goal, researchers will need to determine the nature and scale of microbial impacts on human health.
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From page 227... ...
Drawing on prior culture-based studies and the wealth of new data obtained through "omics" techniques, researchers have made strides in characterizing microbial taxa and their ecological dynamics in different types of built environments. But these characterizations need to be pursued further and applied to understand how built environment microbial exposures affect human health, including quantification of exposure (which microorganisms and how many)
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Research directed at understanding the effects of low socioeconomic status on the nexus of built environments, microbial communities, and occupant health will therefore be valuable. Explore Nonhealth Impacts of Interventions to Manipulate Microbial Communities Microorganisms and microbial communities in the built environment also have effects other than those on occupant health, such as enhanced or reduced degradation and corrosion of building materials and water systems.
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From page 229... ...
Research exploring these impacts and trade-offs might consider interventions in building design and operation that include changes to building ventilation and filtration, temperature and humidity control, air and surface sterilization, and maintenance practices. Other types of interventions aimed at affecting microbial communities include the use of anti icrobial surfaces m and exploration of the concept of environmental probiotics.
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From page 230... ...
Refine molecular tools and methodologies for elucidating the iden tity, abundance, activity, and functions of the microbial communi ties present in built environments, with a focus on enabling more quantitative, sensitive, and reproducible experimental designs. Although progress has been made in characterizing diverse communities of built environment microorganisms, a sufficiently detailed understanding of the functional activities of microbial communities and their associations with built environment and occupant factors is lacking.
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From page 231... ...
Improvements in the methods used to measure indoor environmental conditions that impact the microbiome are needed as part of efforts to better characterize these interacting systems. These tools are also critical in obtaining building metadata to complement microbial data for studies aimed at understanding exposures, as well as in supporting further hypothesis generation.
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From page 232... ...
However, it is essential to capture and account for the physical, chemical, and biologic dynamics of indoor environments so that these constraints can be statistically integrated with microbial dynamics and
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Introducing microbial, indoor air quality, and health variables into the computational tools used by the building design and engineering community to monitor and predict heat, air, moisture, and contaminant transport would be one useful development. For example, incorporating experimental data into models to link building and HVAC system design with interventions aimed at promoting human and environmental health by changing microbial exposures may provide insights to support future research agendas.
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From page 234... ...
The research agenda detailed above can make progress in answering the question of what is gained by exploring built environments, as has been done in other types of ecosystems, and looking at microorganisms, buildings, and occupants in communities rather than in isolation. Answering these and other questions will require the involvement of experts from multiple fields working in concert, as well as the engagement of practitioners from the building community who are responsible for building design and operation and from the clinical community who focus on human health.
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From page 235... ...
A VISION FOR THE FUTURE AND RESEARCH AGENDA 235 REFERENCES Boerstra, A
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