Research Focus
Our research group studies indoor environmental quality. We spend almost 90% of our time indoors, so indoor air plays a major role in shaping our chemical exposures. We seek to understand how those chemical exposures impact our health. One area of interest in our lab is the role of microbes (bacteria and fungi) in contributing to indoor air quality concerns, especially when those microbes are perturbed by typical indoor air pollutants. This summer project involves collaborative research at the intersection of indoor chemistry and biology. The student will investigate volatile organic compound emissions (i.e., emissions of a complex mixture of different gases) from indoor microbes and how they transform upon microbe exposure to air pollutants.
Skills, Techniques, Methods
Students will learn laboratory skills including designing and performing experiments, culturing microbes, laboratory flow tube experiments for microbe pollutant exposure, chromatography techniques, and mass spectrometry techniques.
Research Conditions
The student is expected to participate in on-campus laboratory work several days per week. The remainder of their time will be spent reviewing the literature and performing data analysis, which is also expected to be done in person most of the time.
Team Structure and Opportunities
The student will be paired with a PhD student for mentorship and collaboration. The student will also meet weekly with Dr. Ditto and attend group meetings to interact with the rest of the research team.
Requirements
General chemistry coursework and willingness to learn new things.
