Microorganisms living around us are not only interesting as a subject of study in their own right, but also in their role as important players of the human exposome: the set of factors humans are exposed to within their environment.
Studies of the human exposome comprise a wide spectrum of factors that influence humans' lives and their wellbeing, reaching from pollutants to socioeconomic factors to (environmental) microbes. The research on the exposome involves scientists from many different disciplines and instiutions. Noteworthy examples are The Human Exposome Project or the European Human Exposome Network.
MetaSUB Europe concentrates on the role of microbes as a specific factor within the human exposome. We study questions related to the role of microbes as a functional reservoir, the predictability of infections, or using microbial surveillance as a tool for monitoring and early detection of threads to human populations.