Project:

DNA Subway: Assessing the Microbiome in Old versus New NYC subway stations.

Students:

Hannah Scheuer, Shrey Patel

Institution:

Stuyvesant high school, Manhattan

Mentors:

Victoria Ruiz

Abstract:

A microbiota is the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms. We encounter various microbes everywhere we travel, and heavily trafficked areas have microbiomes that are ever changing. With more than 1.7 billion rides per year over 472 stations, the New York City Subway the busiest subway in the American continent. There are many factors that influence the way subway microbiomes develop including but not limited to passenger influx, temperature, and humidity/ventilation. Previous studies have focused on aerosol microbiology of the NYC subway however, since this study, the MTA has added three new subway stations on the second avenue line (NRQW). We are seeking to compare and analyze microbial communities from different stations particularly looking for patterns among newly constructed and old stations with relation to older data. We hypothesis that across stations we will find distinct communities and that older stations will typically be more diverse.

Poster:

Team samples: