Mission
The Meta-Institute for Airborne Disease in a Changing Climate (The Airborne Institute) is an interdisciplinary team of scientists determined to both understand the impact of climate change on the air we breathe and to develop implementable solutions to improve indoor and outdoor air quality globally. Specifically, within the context of our changing climate we are focused on identifying sources of airborne pathogens, characterizing the transport of pathogens in the air, understanding the impact on human health, and elucidating solutions to improve air quality that we will share broadly through educational initiatives.
Focus Areas
Bioaerosol Production
- Develop standard sampling and analytical protocols for aerosolized pathogens
- Identify sources and pathways airborne pathogens use to enter the environment
Bioaerosol Transport and Survival in Air
- Understand how different production pathways impact aerosol size distribution, composition, and viability
- Identify which factors impact pathogen viability once it becomes aerosolized
Impacts on Human Health
- Understand how particle size, composition and other environmental factors impact deposition/infection in the respiratory tract
- Characterize infection pathways in the respiratory tract
- Investigate the impacts of aerosols on human health broadly
Public Education and Solutions
- Develop partnerships for community driven research
- Broadly communicate our research to the public
- Widely disseminate air quality solutions identified by the research