MADISON, Wis.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Over 200 attendees had their smart phones swabbed to be included in a
global microbiome and metagenomics study, MetaSUB,
led by keynote speaker Dr. Chris Mason, Associate Professor of Weill
Cornell Medicine and Director of WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative
Prediction, at this past year’s annual Wisconsin
Biohealth Summit.

In collaboration with Dr. Mason’s lab, BioForward was able to host the
first Wisconsin event that included a collection of this type of
genomics data at their annual Summit. Attendees had the opportunity to
experience the innovative research and development in the genomics field
firsthand by having their cell phones swabbed and sequenced.

During the keynote presentation, Dr. Mason described ground-breaking
research covering his work with the global MetaSUB project and a now
released paper published by NASA on genetic changes post space excursion.
Mason also walked attendees through the interactive experiment and what
data they could expect to receive after the samples were processed by
Mason’s lab.

Attendees who participated now have access to a personalized online
report detailing the contents of the microbiome that was swabbed from
their phone, as well as an online database of microbe trends amongst all
participant data.

Participant data published included:

• 87% of the DNA on one participant’s phone came from unknown sources
• One participant phone tested strongly positive for octopus DNA
• While many participants had fewer than a million reads of DNA on their
  phones, one participant had over 157 million!
• The bacterial DNA on all but one participant’s phone showed strong
  evidence of carrying an antimicrobial resistance gene.
• 79-100% of bacterial DNA found on participants phones come from
  bacteria that have the ability to make humans ill.
• While the majority of bacterial DNA found belongs to bacteria that
  live in our bodies or local environment, 3 participants had roughly a
  third of their phone’s bacteria DNA originate from bacteria that are
  fit to survive in extreme conditions (boiling water, arctic
  temperatures, etc.)

Additional data and infographics from the experiment can be found on the MetaSUB
website.

Data collected at the event will now be contributed to the MetaSUB
genome project dedicated to building molecular profiles of cities around
the globe to improve their design, functionality, and impact on public
health. These microbiome maps can be used in the future to better
understand the interactions of microbiomes on common surfaces and how it
impacts human health.

“BioForward was excited to partner with Dr. Mason to provide a unique
experience to our members and students from the state,” said Lisa
Johnson, CEO of BioForward. “It is these types of experiences that
reminds us why the work our industry is doing is so critical and why the
industry peaked our curiosities in the first place.”

To learn more about BioForward’s annual Wisconsin Biohealth Summit and
Dr. Mason’s experiment, visit
the Summit website here.

About BioForward

BioForward serves as the independent voice of Wisconsin’s biohealth
industry, providing services and resources to support the growth of our
industry throughout the U.S. and the world. BioForward is the only
Wisconsin organization representing over 200 biohealth member companies
including biotech, biopharma, medical device, diagnostics, digital
health, as well as research institutions, and service providers. Learn
more about BioForward Wisconsin and their initiatives for 2019 at www.bioforward.org.

Contacts

Brian Moeller
BioForward Wisconsin
Email: [email protected]
Website:
http://www.bioforward.org/