We would like to welcome you to attend the 2ndAerosols and Microbiology meeting. The combination of aerosols and microbiology continue to make headlines impacting on our everyday lives from public health and agricultural security to climate concerns. Building on the success of 2024, the meeting operates at the interfaces between the physics, chemistry and biology of bioaerosols exploring the fundamentals of source characterisation, bioaerosol transport, dispersal and transmission, environmental detection, control and mitigations, and risk modelling.
Underpinning the meeting is a focus on novel aerobiological concepts, new research tools and cutting-edge methodology such as: metagenomics in biosurveillance, impacts of air quality on respiratory infection, developments in detection and mitigation technologies, advances in in vitro airway models for exposure assessment, and risk from surfaces through deposited bioaerosol. We anticipate another set of stimulating sessions to support fresh collaborations and share knowledge between researchers in academia and industry in UK and abroad spanning public and animal health, agriculture and biodefence.
Organisers:
• Richard Thomas (Dstl, UK)
• Natalie Garton (The University of Leicester, UK)
• Simon Clark (UKHSA, UK)
• Charlotte Reston (Pirbright Institute, UK)
• Simon Gubbins (Pirbright Institute, UK)
• Jonathan Reid (University of Bristol, UK)
• Malin Alsved (Lund University, Sweden)
• Paul Dabisch (Battelle National Biodefense Institute (BNBI), Frederick, MD)
Central themes for the meeting remain: aerosol source, transport and dispersal, sampling and detection, respiratory infection and airborne transmission of infection, pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical mitigations, risk modelling and policy. These will be built from submissions targeted against the exciting topical subjects below, but please note any relevant bioaerosol research will be welcomed.
Indoor air quality and the built environment: Whether hospitals, farm barns or our homes, bioaerosols play an important role, and understanding and modelling how they form and transport influences detection and mitigations (e.g. filtration, far-UVC). The contribution of biofilms to aerosol formation is an increasing area of interest.
Air pollution and climate effects: Environmental particles and gaseous pollutants can have far reaching impacts. This novel area explores the role of primary and secondary biological particles and their influence on atmospheric composition, the environment and health including the potential for altering bacterial phenotype, infection potential and increasing antimicrobial resistance through transport of antimicrobial resistance genes.
Microbial transmission between individuals and from aerosol to surfaces and beyond: A hugely complex topic full of exciting research spanning source, transport, persistence, deposition, and then how microbes move further through resuspension (e.g. on dust, fibres or fur), physical touch or other mechanisms. Research exploring all elements are welcomed including mitigations. Characterisation of bioaerosol source in natural transmission scenarios is a key research gap.
Biosurveillance of microbes in the environment: From specific detection to the ever-increasing role of bioaerosol metagenomics, detection and monitoring is vital to initiating mitigations and enabling appropriate policy and risk management. The contribution of respiratory and aerosol microbiomes to antimicrobial resistance will be explored alongside cutting-edge research on bioaerosol detection and monitoring.
Innovative bioaerosol techniques to support risk assessment: Covering bioaerosol characterisation, aerosol system development and standardization and the rising use of in vitro aerosol deposition methodologies (e.g. organ on a chip). Application of these along with molecular assays and imaging tools to better understand microbial aerosol survival and infection and support improved risk assessment.
Agricultural pathogens – impacts on plant, animals and humans: Plant and animal pathogens cause huge economic loss, whilst zoonotic pathogens with pandemic potential, such as H5N1 influenza, keep re-emerging. Novel insights into the spread, detection, mitigation and risk modelling of these pathogens is welcomed.
Interface of microbiology with respiratory physiology, medicine and computation: Novel research insights into how anatomy and physiology impacts on respiratory disease and airborne microbial transmission. Further, novel therapeutic approaches and in vivo models will be discussed along with pioneering methods to rapidly develop next-generation therapeutics and diagnostics against bioaerosol infections.
Risk modelling and policymaking for bioaerosols: Fresh insights from the combination of aerosol physics and chemistry with aerobiology will be applied to many different models of varying fidelity. Key elements will include atmospheric transport and dispersal modelling of bioaerosols in indoor or outdoor environs, and extrapolative models between animals and humans. Anticipate new methods to understand the bioaerosol stakeholder community and define policy.
Further information will be announced in the build-up to the meeting on our social media channels. Follow us on Bluesky and X @MicrobioSoc using the hashtag #Aerosols2026. We will also be sharing stories on Instagram throughout the event.
Most people (including licensing authorities) consider vaccines as if they were drugs - simply: do they protect the recipient and/or cause side-effects? However, there is a growing appreciation that a key aspect of vaccine effectiveness is whether and how well they inhibit transmission of infections within populations. Vaccines and deployment strategies that focus on transmission are the most efficient and effective and can, in some cases, wipe out infectious pathogens altogether. This phenomenon is highly relevant to a large number of viral and bacterial infections that are only found in humans and which are transmitted from one person to another partly or entirely in droplets and aerosols generated in the upper respiratory tract (the nose and mouth) when we breathe, talk, sneeze, cough, shout and sing. In this talk I will discuss some of the approaches taken towards understanding how such infections transmit, explain ways in which vaccines can bring about indirect effects and provide examples of recent vaccine programmes designed primarily for their indirect effects.
Caroline Duchaine is a full professor of microbiology and holder of the Tier-/ Canada Research Chair on Bioaerosols whose research focuses on the presence, behavior, and health impacts of airborne microorganisms. Her work bridges microbiology, aerosol science, and exposure assessment, with particular emphasis on human and occupational environments, including agricultural settings.Over the course of her career, Prof Duchaine has played a leading role in advancing methodologies for sampling, characterizing, and modeling bioaerosols, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and bacteriophages. Her research has significantly contributed to understanding airborne transmission pathways, microbial viability in aerosols, and the health risks associated with inhalation exposure. Recognized internationally for her interdisciplinary approach, Prof Duchaine has contributed to major advances in respiratory health research, particularly in the context of infectious diseases, occupational exposure, and emerging pathogens. She is actively involved in collaborative networks that link fundamental research to public health and environmental applications.
The pandemic substantially raised awareness of the role the indoor environment plays in transmission of infection. While airborne transmission is now accepted as the dominant mode for COVID-19, there are substantial questions that remain around the specific mechanisms for pathogen transmission and just how effective different mitigation measures are.
Simple models such as the Wells-Riley approach are widely used to make the case for interventions such as ventilation, but transmission involves a complex chain of events that such models struggle to capture. From the emission of a pathogen into an environment, through transport mechanisms via air, surfaces and people within that environment, to exposure of a susceptible person, the process is determined by the spatial and transient interactions of physics, biology and chemistry as well as human behaviours. Measuring real-world infection outcomes is challenging, and even where it is possible, it is difficult to unpick the relative importance of different components.
Despite all of this complexity, policy makers and practitioners need evidence that can be easily translated into advice. This talk considers the processes involved in transmission, where we have evidence and where there are gaps. It considers the challenge of trading off simple advice with complex realities and explores how much we really can provide effective and practical protection from transmission in the built environment.
Caroline Duchaine is a full professor of microbiology and holder of the Tier-/ Canada Research Chair on Bioaerosols whose research focuses on the presence, behavior, and health impacts of airborne microorganisms. Her work bridges microbiology, aerosol science, and exposure assessment, with particular emphasis on human and occupational environments, including agricultural settings.Over the course of her career, Prof Duchaine has played a leading role in advancing methodologies for sampling, characterizing, and modeling bioaerosols, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and bacteriophages. Her research has significantly contributed to understanding airborne transmission pathways, microbial viability in aerosols, and the health risks associated with inhalation exposure. Recognized internationally for her interdisciplinary approach, Prof Duchaine has contributed to major advances in respiratory health research, particularly in the context of infectious diseases, occupational exposure, and emerging pathogens. She is actively involved in collaborative networks that link fundamental research to public health and environmental applications.
A vast project, titled “Antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) in bioaerosols in Canadian arctic, rural and urban environments: sources, profiles, transport, and fate” was funded by the 2019 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Frontiers program. This project involving scientists from broad ranges of expertise (bioinformatics, bioaerosols, veterinary medicine, engineering, medical doctors, epidemiologists, modeling experts, and physiologists) has led to broad air sampling campaigns, providing rich information on various bioaerosol sources for antibiotic resistance genes both in natural and man-made environments. We have captured air samples from clouds, atmospheric particles, trans-Atlantic and Northern environments, hospitals, agricultural (pig, poultry, and fish) farming and manure spreading activities, and wastewater treatment. The project also explores alternative air sampling methods such as conifer needles, HVAC systems filters, and car air cabin filters that were used for a trans-Canada survey of circulating ARGs. A high-throughput PCR assay was also developed to increase analytical capacity. Findings. Our data will be used for dispersion modeling, risk assessment models, and in vivo ARG transfer. Data curation was secured through an extensive database and sample preservation system to ensure the sharing of information and material for future collaborations. This project is the first initiative to cover broad sources of bioaerosols and integrate the findings into models to better understand the role of air in the dispersion of ARG. The presentation will cover the methods, context and possibility of collaborations for future valorization of samples and data.
David G. Schmale III, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech University, US)
Dr. David Schmale is Professor and Director of the Translational Plant Sciences Center at Virginia Tech, where he leads a community of more than 40 faculty advancing solutions in food security, sustainability, and agricultural resilience. He earned his B.S. from the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University. David's research focuses on atmospheric transport of plant pathogens and the development of uncrewed systems to sample airborne microbes across landscapes. His work reveals how microbes move across environmental interfaces, from raindrop-driven spore release to long-distance atmospheric transport, shaping disease dynamics at regional and continental scales. This research supports forecasting and next-generation biosurveillance and has been featured in Popular Science, Scientific American, PNAS, and Annual Review of Phytopathology. David is a Fulbright New Zealand Alumnus, and his lab is supported by NSF, USDA, NASA, DARPA, and other partners.
The atmospheric transport of plant pathogens unfolds across a continuum of scales, linking microscale release processes at leaf surfaces to long-distance movement across regions and continents. Together, these processes underpin atmospheric incursions, where pathogens cross borders unannounced and often undetected. At the smallest scale, dispersal begins with liberation from surfaces and escape through the laminar boundary layer. High-speed imaging reveals that raindrop impacts generate vortex-like flows that entrain leaf rust spores into the air, while jumping droplet condensation and cascading “billiard ball” interactions amplify spore release across leaf surfaces. At the farm scale, transport is governed by turbulent flow within the surface boundary layer, shaping dispersal across agricultural landscapes. Release–recapture studies show how fungal spores move from field-scale sources under natural conditions, while work on genetically engineered switchgrass demonstrates how pollen disperses beyond field boundaries, raising challenges for disease management and gene flow. At regional and continental scales, pathogens become entrained in the planetary boundary layer and free atmosphere, where structured airflows organize movement over hundreds to thousands of kilometers. These highways in the sky connect distant regions through coherent transport pathways, including atmospheric bridges linking Australia and New Zealand. Advances in sensing and sampling are enabling new insights into pathogen movement across scales. Integrating these observations with atmospheric transport models provides a pathway toward predictive frameworks capable of detecting, forecasting, and responding to biological threats before they arrive.
Dr. Nancy Leung is an epidemiologist with 10+ years of experience researching the epidemiology of influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. She has served as Principal Investigator for longitudinal observational cohorts, randomised vaccine trials, and household transmission studies involving over 4,000 participants in Hong Kong and mainland China, generating empirical data on individual and population immunity, vaccine response, transmission, and disease burden. On transmission, she has led hospital-based human exhaled breath and ambient air sampling studies, and currently leading a community-based household study comparing transmission characteristics between respiratory viruses. She has provided early data on coronavirus airborne risk and facemask effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic, authored a highly cited review on respiratory virus transmissibility and transmission, and contributed to the WHO's efforts in assessing SARS-CoV-2 airborne risk and standardizing transmission terminology. Dr. Leung was featured as one of the "Five science stars making their mark in China" by Nature Index.
In this talk, Dr. Leung aims to facilitate cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations on studying and controlling airborne disease transmission by giving a broad overview on studying respiratory virus transmission through field and epidemiologic studies. She will introduce common epidemiologic concepts and methods in studying respiratory virus transmission in the population; the discussion on standardising airborne transmission route terminology; different levels of evidence in support of a transmission route, including technical hurdles in generating empirical evidence on airborne transmission and effectiveness of interventions; the challenges in assessing relative risk between transmission routes from field studies; and the clinical importance of understanding airborne transmission.
Richard graduated in Physics and spent 10 years working as a software engineer before carrying out a PhD in Computational Biology and moving into a research career. He now leads a wet/dry research group at the Earlham Institute developing new methods in metagenomics, particularly focussed on in situ sequencing and real-time analysis of clinical and environmental samples. For over a decade, he has been deploying shotgun nanopore sequencing to surveillance of the air microbiome in outdoor and indoor environments.
Over the past decade, we have developed AirSeq, a whole-genome sequencing–based approach for characterising the air microbiome. AirSeq combines high-volume active air sampling (hundreds of litres per minute), amplification-free nanopore sequencing, and custom real-time bioinformatics implemented in MARTi (Metagenomic Analysis in Real-Time, Peel et al. 2025).
Initial applications focused on the early detection of airborne fungal pathogens in agricultural environments, including greenhouses and open fields, where AirSeq detected pathogen presence days to weeks before visible disease symptoms appeared on plants (Giolai et al. 2024). Subsequent work has expanded the approach to the surveillance of bacterial pathogens in cattle housing and in urban environments.
Alongside targeted pathogen detection, a major focus has been on characterising the background air microbiome. Between 2019 and 2021, we conducted air sampling at 13 sites across London, with most locations sampled in multiple seasons and one site sampled weekly for a full year. These data revealed a highly diverse assemblage of airborne flora and fauna, with pronounced and reproducible seasonal patterns. At one site – the wildlife garden at the Natural History Museum – we compared detected taxa with curated species inventories, highlighting gaps in available reference genomes that can constrain taxonomic classification.
More recently, we have extended this work to eight contrasting habitats across Norfolk and Suffolk, sampling each site seasonally over two years to investigate how habitat type shapes the background air microbiome. Together, these studies demonstrate the potential of whole-genome airborne metagenomics to link aerosol biology with ecosystem context, seasonality, and disease surveillance.
All speakers and poster presenters will be attending in-person.
Ticket
Rate (GBP)
Microbiology Society Full member
For those with an academic or professional interest in microbiology.
£399
Microbiology Society Student member
For those registered for a higher degree / studying at undergraduate level.
£279
Microbiology Society Concessionary member
For those with an academic or professional interest in microbiology earning less than £43,000 (or equivalent) per year.
£319
Microbiology Society Affilate member
For anyone with an interest in microbiology who simply wants to stay in touch.
£419
Non-member
£489
Microbiology Society members get heavily subsidised registration fees for Annual Conference, Focused Meetings and other Society events – both online and in-person. Join now to enjoy these discounts and many other opportunities that are designed for microbiologists at all stages of their career.
What's included in your registration fee?
Admission to break and lunchtime information and career development sessions
Full access to scientific poster sessions
Tea and coffee breaks, Lunch during the event period and Meeting Dinner which will be held on one of the evenings.
Access to an online abstracts book
Certificate of Attendance (on request)
Access to CPD Points
Registration confirmation
Upon registration, you should receive an automated confirmation email. Please contact [email protected] if, after 24 hours, this has not been received.
Payment information
All registration fees must be paid in full BEFORE arrival at the meeting. Any outstanding registration fees must be paid before admittance will be granted to the meeting.
Cancellations
Refunds are not provided. However, substitutions of attendees can be made at any time before the event by contacting [email protected].
Abstract submission for the 2nd Aerosols and Microbiology: Bridging disciplines to advance health & environmental sustainability meetinghas now closed.
Both members and non-members of the Microbiology Society are welcome to submit an abstract for the meeting. All offered talks presentations and posters will be selected from the abstracts submitted. Once submissions are closed, they will be reviewed by the session organisers and submitters will be notified of the outcome from Early March 2026. By submitting an abstract to this meeting, you are indicating to the session organisers your commitment to attend the event.
Abstracts are welcome for any of the following topics:
Indoor air quality and the built environment
Air pollution and climate effects
Microbial transmission between individuals and from aerosol to surfaces and beyond
Biosurveillance of microbes in the environment
Innovative bioaerosol techniques to support risk assessment
Agricultural pathogens – impacts on plant, animals and humans
Interface of microbiology with respiratory physiology, medicine and computation
Risk modelling and policymaking for bioaerosols
Abstract Guidance
Abstracts must be a maximum of 250 words. The Society has produced a guide to give delegates some tips on how to write a great abstract, which can be downloaded below:
Please note that the abstract is the only information session organisers use when deciding whether to accept your work for presentation as an offered oral or poster. If accepted, it will also be published in the abstract book for the meeting – so think carefully about what needs to be included.
Leeds Marriott Hotel is located at 4 Trevelyan Square, Boar Lane, Leeds LS1 6ET.
The property is located in Leeds City Centre, just a short walk from Leeds Railway Station, in the heart of the vibrant shopping and business district. It is ideally situated near the Trinity Leeds shopping centre and the historic Leeds Corn Exchange.
Public car parking available at Trinity Car Park for Hotel guests rates from £17.50 and in the city, max H 1.98m. 0.1 Miles
Trinity Leeds Car Park:
Trinity Leeds, Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5AT
5-minute walk to the hotel. Chargeable.
Q-Park Sovereign Square:
Sovereign Square, Swinegate, Leeds LS1 4AG
3-minute walk to the hotel. Chargeable.
By train
LEEDS STATION – 0.2 miles – 4 minute walk
Exit the station via the main entrance onto New Station Street. Walk straight ahead towards Boar Lane. Cross the road onto Trevelyan Square and the hotel will be on your left.
By bus
Nearby stops include:
1, 4, 14, 19, 40, 49, 50A, 72, 757 (Leeds Station Interchange or Boar Lane).
Leeds Marriott Hotel is offering a limited number of rooms to meeting delegates at a discounted rate of £185.00 per night, including breakfast, for stays from 8–11 June 2026. Bookings can be made until Monday, 13 April 2026, subject to availability.
If you have any questions or need assistance with accommodation arrangements, please contact Leeds Marriott Hotel Front Desk team directly. They will be happy to assist you with any inquiries.
The hotel does not offer childcare services. However, if needed, you can find local babysitters and registered childcare providers nearby via childcare.co.uk.
We aim to make the event welcoming and accessible for all attendees. The conference will take place on the ground floor of the Leeds Marriott Hotel, which you will have exclusive use of for the duration of the event.
Access and Movement Around the Venue:
The entire ground floor is fully accessible, with level access throughout the event spaces. If you require assistance at any point, please speak to a member of Society staff or hotel staff, who will be happy to help.
Accessible Toilets:
There is one accessible toilet available in the hotel lobby. This will be clearly signposted.
Pronoun:
We collect pronoun information during registration and all name badges either have pronouns printed on them, or a space to add these, should you wish to. Please do respect other delegates personal pronouns.
Seating:
General seating will be available throughout the venue; however this can be limited during busy times. If you need support finding seating, please don’t hesitate to ask a member of Society or venue staff.
Hearing Support:
Hearing loops are not installed as standard in the meeting rooms. If you require a hearing loop or similar listening support equipment, please indicate this in advance on your registration form if needed.
Parking and Drop-Off:
The hotel does not have on-site parking. However, Trinity Car Park, located directly across Trevelyan Square, provides disabled parking bays. You are also welcome to drop off passengers at the hotel entrance before parking.
Hotel accommodation:
For more information about the physical features of our accessible rooms, common areas or special services relating to a specific disability please call +44 113-236-6366 . Click here to see accessible rooms types at Leeds Marriott Hotel.
Additional Requirements:
Please ensure you include your accessibility requirements during registration so that we can provide you with further details if applicable.
Dietary requirements:
We work very closely with all our venue catering teams to ensure all dietary requirements can be provided for. Please ensure you include your dietary requirements during registration and please don’t hesitate to let us know, or speak to the venue catering staff, if you can’t see your requirement signposted during the event.
Also, we recently took the decision to remove alcohol from all scientific sessions, including poster sessions, to ensure everyone can participate fully. However, alcohol will be served at the drink reception and conference dinner .
Applications for the Society Events Grant to support members attending 2nd Aerosols and Microbiology: Bridging disciplines to advance health & environmental sustainability are closed.
Grants will act as contribution towards registration, travel, and accommodation expenses only.
Eligibility requirements:
Eligible membership categories:
Full Member
Full Concessionary Member
Postgraduate Student Members
Undergraduate Student Members
Minimum membership period required:
A minimum membership period of one year and two consecutive membership payments is required. Postgraduate and Undergraduate with three year memberships will need to have completed one year memberships will need to have completed one year (three-year membership payment constitutes consecutive payment).
Please read all information carefully on the Society Events Grant page before submitting an application for funding.
Early Career Researcher Forum co-chairing scheme
If you wish to be considered for a session co-chairing role at 2nd Aerosols and Microbiology: Bridging disciplines to advance health & environmental sustainability (see website for details).
You must fit the Society’s criteria for an Early Career Researcher/ Microbiologist to be considered for the co-chairing scheme. The Society considers you Early Career if you are a student at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, within five years of appointment to your first position after your highest qualification earned or if you identify as a member in the early stages of their career.
To apply for the scheme, please complete the section in the abstract submission form.
Best Poster Prize:
Microbiology is pleased to provide a 'Best Poster' prize to one scientific poster presented at the 2nd Aerosols and Microbiology meeting. The winners will be selected by Microbiology's Editor-in-Chief and the winner will receive a small cash prize. All posters displayed at the meeting will be automatically entered for the prize.
Early Career Scientist Travel Award – Aerosol Society
The Early Career Scientist Travel Award offered by the Aerosol Society, is available to support eligible early career researchers attending the 2nd Aerosols and Microbiology: Bridging Disciplines to Advance Health & Environmental Sustainability meeting.
The award provides a contribution towards conference-related costs, including travel, accommodation, and registration, to enable early career scientists to present their research and engage with the wider aerosol science community.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:
Be an Early Career Researcher (ECR)
Be a current member of the Aerosol Society
Submit their application at least 35 days prior to meeting travel
Please note that applications received after this deadline will not be considered.
How to... write a great abstract
