Urban Aerobiome Microclimates

This image shows the vacuum and environmental sensor setup near the big rock in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY. To the immediate left of the big rock there is a yellow vacuum used to collect airborne microbes. On the left side of the photo in the foreground there is a white magnolia tree. Attached to the tree is a closed beach umbrella with the environmental sensors attached. In the background of the photo there are three wooden park benches located in front of a hill with tall dense trees.

Fieldwork in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY. Our team uses a BioFlyte vacuum to collect air biomass samples onto an electret filter. Environmental metrics are collected via a PurpleAir sensor and Reed Anemometer.

Project Description

An environmental microbiome is defined as the population of microorganisms that inhabit a specific environment. Recent research has highlighted how low microbiome diversity and exposure are correlated to increases in public health effects, such as asthma, allergies, obesity, cancer, depression, and the transmission of potential pathogens. Our team is developing a prototype methodology for co-evaluating spatiotemporal environmental conditions and microbial metrics to observe the dynamics of airborne microbial colonials within an urban microclimate of New York City.

DNA extraction

Coloring Book Zine

As an interdisciplinary lab, our work on the environmental microbiome engages the public through traditional academic and non-traditional artistic and design-based means. One form of media we find constructive for this is through the use of coloring books that explain the urban aerobione. The coloring book is free to download through this link.

A black-and-white image stating Urban aerobiome Microclimates. The image and lettering are designed to be colored.

Cover of the Aerobiome Team coloring book Zine. Click this link to download a free copy.

Title	Type	Venue	Date	People	Topics	Projects	Link
📬 The Hénaff Lab Summer Tour	TalkConference PresentationPoster PresentationSymposium		June 15, 2025 → June 27, 2025	Alma Rocha Phoebe Mankiewicz Diedre Brown Hao-Wei Shih Karolina Sulich Elizabeth Hénaff		Gowanus Canal Microbiome Urban Aerobiome Microclimates Green Walls and the Indoor Microbiome
2024 NYU Climate Week Kick-Off	ExhibitLLI	Governor’s Island, New York, NY	September 22, 2024	Diedre Brown		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	nyclimateexchange.org
Assessment of Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	Conference PresentationNYU seminar	NYU Urban Research Day, New York, NY	March 6, 2024	Diedre Brown Elizabeth Hénaff		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.nyu.edu
NYU Urban Doctoral Fellowship 2023-2024 Cohort	Award	NYU Urban	September 1, 2023 → May 31, 2024	Diedre Brown		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.nyu.edu
Assessment of Hyperlocal Urban Aerobiomes	Conference Presentation	52nd International Conference on Urban Affairs, New York, NY	April 25, 2024	Diedre Brown Progga Nabiha Bhuiyan Harry Trethowan Tori Coleman Elizabeth Hénaff	Holobiont Interactions, Resilient Cities	Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	urbanaffairsassociation.org
Benchmarking DNA recovery rates from aerobiomes sampled with electret filters	Conference Presentation	Standards for Microbiome and Multi'Omics Measurements, National Institute for Standards in Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO	2022-08-22	Harry Trethowan		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.microbialstandards.org
Assessment of Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	Conference Presentation	8th Annual Urban Soils Symposium – Metabolism of Cities ,The Arts Center at Governor’s Island	December 12, 2023	Diedre Brown Harry Trethowan Progga Nabiha Bhuiyan Tori Coleman	Holobiont Interactions	Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.youtube.com