Billions of people each year use mass-transit and subways and yet almost nothing is known about the molecular basis of their interactions. As it turns out, the design and structure of buildings and subways can impact the dynamics and persistence of molecular signatures. Metagenomics of the Subways and Urban Biomes (MetaSUB) is a global initiative aimed at elucidating the metagenome of the built environment of mass-transit and large-scale cities around the globe.

With support from the Sloan Foundation, the MetaSUB Consortium (www.metasub.org) is being launched this summer around the world in 16 cities. This conference will bring together lead investigators from all these cities along with other experts in microbiology, metagenomics, bioinformatics, engineers, architects, and many more to share their experiences and open a discussion to organize such a massive study. The goal is to create a baseline of the subway microbiome and metagenome and help to create a new standard by which we design and study the built environment.

For more information about the MetaSUB Summit please click here.

Agenda: (*presentation titles and times are subject to change)

Jack Gilbert, University of Chicago

Jane Carlton, New York University

Patrick Lee, City University of Hong Kong

Houtan Noushmehr, University of São Paolo

Hugues Richard, University Pierre et Marie Curie

Norman Pace, University of Colorado

Leming Shi, Fudan University

Krista McGuire, Barnard College

Yongli Guo, Capital Medical University of Beijing

Ellen Jorgensen, Genspace

Curtis Huttenhower, Harvard School of Public Health

16:00-16:30 – Engineering and Design of Large-scale Transit Systems

Linda Nozick, Cornell University