# MetaSUB International Consortium

Global transit aerobiome metagenomic mapping — Standardized multi-city subway/public-transit swab-sequencing methodology.

Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/companies/metasub-consortium/
Updated: 2026-07-06

- Country: United States

## Verifiable facts

| Fact | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Affiliation | International Consortium consisting of experts across fields including genomics, data analysis, engineering, public health, and design, with its origins at Weill Cornell Medicine | http://metasub.org/about/, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-016-0168-z |
| Research focus | Metagenomic and forensic genetic mapping of urban biomes, identification of antimicrobial resistance markers, and discovery of novel biosynthetic gene clusters to inform city planning and public health | http://metasub.org/, http://metasub.org/about/, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160621143656.htm |
| Facility | New York Genome Center (hosted inaugural meeting) and various partner research laboratories internationally | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104993, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-016-0168-z |
| Grant | Funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Grand Challenges Explorations), National Institutes of Health, WorldQuant Foundation, Vallee Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science | https://crowdfunding.cornell.edu/project/3636, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104993, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-016-0168-z, https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2016/05/weill-cornell-medicine-awarded-grand-challenges-explorations-grant-to-conduct-groundbreaking-study-o |
| Publications | Peer-reviewed articles, including research published in Nature and Science by consortium members | http://metasub.org/members/ |
| Principal staff | Christopher Mason (Co-Founder, Principal Investigator), Evan Afshin (Co-Founder, Clinical Director), David Danko (Director of Bioinformatics), and other academic leads/directors like Krista Ryon and Daniela Bezdan | http://metasub.org/about/, https://metasub.org/directors/, https://metasub.org/people/ |
| Headcount | Largely driven by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students working on a voluntary basis, alongside international academic collaborators [medium confidence] | https://crowdfunding.cornell.edu/project/3636 |

Independent sources: crowdfunding.cornell.edu, doi.org, link.springer.com, news.weill.cornell.edu, sciencedaily.com

## Technologies

- [Urban microbiome management](https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/urban-microbiome-management/)