The Public Health Aerobiology Lab, led by Dr. Donald Milton, studies airborne infection transmission through multidisciplinary work including a virology lab, a bioaerosol lab and a clinic. Our lab is part of the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health. The research that we conduct is crucial in informing policy around environmental and occupational health.
Student Opportunities
Projects
Studying Airborne Infection Transmission
The laboratory supports studies of:
- airborne infection transmission
- influenza epidemiology
- bioaerosol exposure in asthma
- non-invasive monitoring of exhaled biomarkers
- the role of germicidal ultraviolet light (gUV) devices in disinfection of airborne pathogens
Capabilities of the lab include culturing viruses, RT-qPCR, analysis of exhaled breath particles, bioaerosol sampling and immunoassay.
PHAB Lab Team
Principal Investigators:
Bioaerosol Laboratory: Dr. Kristen Coleman, Dr. Jonathan Vyskocil, Phil Lubet, Maddie Sawyer, Anna Pulley,
Virology Laboratory: Dr. Sheldon Tai, Dr. Amrita Mandal, Alycia Smith
Research Clinic: Yi Esparza, Julie Corrigan, Dr. Barbara Albert, Zahra Iskandar, Saratu Kehinde
Communication Research: Dr. Kate McPhaul, Young Yun, Ning Xu
Project & Data Management: Dr. Filbert Hong, Isabel Sierra Maldonado, Sulakkhana De Saram
Epidemiology & Data Analytics: Dr. Donald Milton, Dr. Jianyu Lai, Jessica Xu
Post-Doctoral Fellows: Dr. Jianyu Lai, Dr. Jonathan Vyskocil, Dr. Amrita Mandal
Doctoral Students: Anna Pulley, Young Yun, Anamarie Leduc
Alumni: Dr. P. Jacob Bueno de Mesquita, Naja Fadul, Dr. Jennifer German, Aaron Kassman, Michael Lutchenkov, Molly Oertel, Vivek Ravichandran, Delwin Suraj, Rhonda Washington-Lewis, Dr. Somayeh Youssefi, Dr. Petri Kalliomaeki, Aditya Srikakulapu, Maria Schanz, Louie Gold, Catherine Nguyen, Ali Hassani, Will Smith, Olga Volchansky, Beata Assadi
Dr. Don Milton Publications
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0550-7834
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?
Dr. Kristen Coleman Publications
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0024-3400
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v0mVFaYAAAAJ
Dr. Kate McPhaul
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7008-142X
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Epyr0xMAAAAJ&hl=en
Key Publications from the Public Health Aerobiology Laboratory
Nan Zhang, Yong Guo, Benjamin J. Cowling, Weiwei Huang, Wei Jia, Ao Li, Danting Luo, Donald K. Milton, Shengqi Wang, Hui-Ling Yen, Yinping Zhang, Yingxin Zhu, Hua Qian, Yuguo Li. Explosive household spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in China in late 2022. Building and Environment, Volume 256, 2024.
Lai J, Coleman KK, Tai S-H, German J, Hong F, Albert B, Esparza Y, Srikakulapu A, Schanz M, Sierra Maldonado I, Oertel M, Fadul N, Gold TL, Weston S, Mullins K, McPhaul KM, Frieman M, Milton DK. Exhaled Breath Aerosol Shedding of Highly Transmissible Versus Prior Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants, Clinical Infectious Diseases (2022), ciac846.
Lai J, German J, Hong F, Tai S-H, McPhaul K, Milton DK, University of Maryland StopCOVID Research Group. Comparison of Saliva and Midturbinate Swabs for Detection of SARS-CoV-2, Microbiology Spectrum (2022).
Coleman KK, Tay DJW, Tan KS, Ong SWX, Than TS, Koh MH, Chin YQ, Nasir H, Mak TM, Chu JJH, Milton DK, Chow VTK, Tambyah PA, Chen M, Tham KW. Viral Load of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Respiratory Aerosols Emitted by Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) While Breathing, Talking, and Singing. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 May 30;74(10):1722-1728.
Adenaiye O, Lai J, Bueno de Mesquita PJ, Hong F, Youssefi S, German J, Tai S-H, Albert B, Schanz M, Weston S, Hang J, Fung C, Chung HK, Coleman KK, Sapoval N, Treangen T, Maljkovic Berry I, Mullins K, Frieman M, Ma T, Milton DK, University of Maryland StopCOVID Research Group. Infectious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Exhaled Aerosols and Efficacy of Masks During Early Mild Infection, Clinical Infectious Diseases (2021), ciab797.
de Assis, R.R., Jain, A., Nakajima, R. et al. Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in COVID-19 convalescent blood using a coronavirus antigen microarray. Nat Commun 12, 6 (2021).
Prather K, Marr L, Schooley R, McDiarmid M, Wilson M, Milton DK. Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Science 05 Oct 2020
Milton DK. A Rosetta Stone for Understanding Infectious Drops and Aerosols. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc 2020
(accepted manuscript here if you cannot access journal webpage)
Morawska L, Milton DK. It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of COVID-19. Clin Infect Dis 2020
Bueno de Mesquita PJ, Noakes CJ, Milton DK. Quantitative aerobiologic analysis of an influenza human challenge-transmission trial. Indoor Air 2020
Bueno de Mesquita PJ, Nguyen-Van-Tam J, Killingley B, et al. Influenza A (H3) illness and viral aerosol shedding from symptomatic naturally infected and experimentally infected cases. Influenza Other Respir Viruses 2020; irv.12790.
Chia PY, Coleman KK, Tan YK, et al. Detection of air and surface contamination by SARS-CoV-2 in hospital rooms of infected patients. Nature Communications 2020;11(1):2800.
Morawska L, Tang JW, Bahnfleth W, et al. How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised? Environ Int 2020;142:105832.
Nguyen-Van-Tam JS, Killingley B, Enstone J, et al. Minimal transmission in an influenza A (H3N2) human challenge-transmission model within a controlled exposure environment. PLoS Pathog 2020;16(7):e1008704.
Leung NHL, Chu DKW, Shiu EYC, et al. Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks. Nature Medicine 2020;1–5.
Zhu S, Jenkins S, Addo K, et al. Ventilation and laboratory confirmed acute respiratory infection (ARI) rates in college residence halls in College Park, Maryland. Environment International 2020;137:105537.
Fennelly KP, Acuna-Villaorduna C, Jones-Lopez E, Lindsley WG, Milton D. Microbial Aerosols: New Diagnostic Specimens for Pulmonary Infections. CHEST [Internet] 2019 [cited 2019 Nov 20];0(0).
(19)34113-3/abstract
Yan J, Grantham M, Pantelic J, et al. Infectious virus in exhaled breath of symptomatic seasonal influenza cases from a college community. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2018;115(5):1081–6.
Recent News Coverage of UMD StopCOVID Team Members
September 7, 2021 Maryland Institute of Environmental Health 688 Seminar:
Results of the UMD StopCOVID Study and High Efficiency Air Sanitation with Germicidal UV Light for Schools and Conference Rooms, presented by Jianyu Lai, MPH and Don Milton, MD, DrPH
View the zoom recording for MIEH 688 Seminar September 7, 2021.
Passcode: !+h8%j?Q
Infectious SARS-CoV-2 in Exhaled Aerosols and Efficacy of Masks During Early Mild Infection: We have analyzed the results of 13 months of the StopCOVID study. The manuscript is available at medRxiv.org [https://medrxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2021.08.13.21261989v1], and is undergoing review for publication.
Key points:
- Cases exhale infectious viral aerosols.
- SARS-CoV-2 is evolving toward more efficient airborne transmission.
- Loose-fitting masks significantly but moderately reduce viral RNA aerosol.
- Tight-fitting masks or respirators and ventilation/air cleaning are essential for worker protection in public-facing or crowded indoor workplaces.
Please also check out the article at Science News that talks about these results: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid-coronavirus-aerosol-droplets-airborne-evolution
Here's Why Mouthwash Is Not Going To Save You From Coronavirus. CNN.com (November 17, 2020).
UMD Scientists Say Vice Presidential Debate Needs Air Filtration System Due To Coronavirus. CBS Baltimore, October 7, 2020.
Beyond Plexiglass: Scientists Say This Simple Solution Could Keep VP Debate Safer. NPR, October 7, 2020.
The plexiglass barriers at tonight’s debate will be pretty useless, virus experts say. New York Times, October 7, 2020.
Answering COVID's Big Questions on Campus. Maryland Today, October 6, 2020.
The Flu May Linger in the Air, Just Like the Coronavirus. The New York Times, July 14, 2020.
We Need to Talk About Ventilation. Tufekci Z. The Atlantic. July 30, 2020.
Recent Lectures by Members of the UMD StopCOVID Team
Virtual Press Conference on COVID-19 Science Letter October 5, 2020
Dr. Milton's lecture for MIEH 688: Infectious Drops and Aerosols September 22, 2020
University of California San Francisco Medical Grand Rounds July 16, 2020: Dr. Milton
A Conversation: What Do Science and Data Say About the Near Term Future of Singing May 5, 2020 Webinar
Contact Us
Room Number: SPH 0110, 0117, 0120
Email: phablab@umd.edu
Office Phone Number: (301) 405-3142
The Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health is currently seeking an Assistant Research Professor to work with the PHAB Lab. View job application page to learn more.