TS 2. Bioaerosols - Overview, Techniques, and Experimental Applications in Lab and Field

Presented by: Alex Huffman and Joshua L. Santarpia

Location: Mesilla

Abstract: This tutorial will overview biological aerosols and methods for their measurement and study. Specifically, this tutorial will cover three primary areas: bioaerosol measurement, laboratory techniques, and field studies. Each topic will be covered from environmental bioaerosol and infectious aerosol perspectives. A broad overview of selected real-time and offline techniques for bioaerosol measurement will be covered, as well as laboratory techniques for bioaerosol study. Field studies will cover a range of situation from outdoor measurements to studies in clinical settings.

Presenter Bio: Alex Huffman is an Associate Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Denver after having earned his Ph.D. in Analytical/Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of Colorado. His research group focuses on the development and application of new scientific approaches to detecting bioaerosols in the atmosphere, characterization and application of techniques for ultrafine particle detection, and heterogeneous chemical reactions on bioaerosol surfaces. During the COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Huffman added research focus on transmission and removal of aerosols in indoor environments, including relevant aerosol modeling, mitigation, and monitoring efforts. Dr. Huffman has more than 20 years of experience with atmospheric aerosol science and has published more than 45 papers related to bioaerosols. Dr. Huffman has been involved with AAAR since 2005, currently serves on the board, and has previously served as bioaerosol working group chair and organizer for multiple special symposia and conference committees.

Presenter Bio: Joshua L. Santarpia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology program director for Biodefense and Health Security Degree Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Additionally, he is both the Associate Director of Academic Affairs and a Scholar for the Global Center for Health Security. He is also the Science and Technology Advisor for the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska. He completed his graduate studies at Texas A&M University and has held past positions at the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and immediately prior to joining UNMC was a distinguished staff member at the Sandia National Laboratories. His work is generally in the field of aerobiology, the study of airborne microorganisms. He has worked extensively on biological sensors, building and facility sensing networks, and has developed aerosol measurement tools, including those for unmanned aerial vehicles and for biodetection/collection activities for both the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. He has worked extensively to understand optical and other signatures that can be used to detect and identify biological aerosol and study how those signatures change over time. He has developed novel methods to study bioaerosol hazards in medical environments. Most recently, he has applied these methods to characterizing SARS-CoV-2 aerosol in the patient environment and characterizing aerosol risk in public spaces.