Diedre Brown

Our daily interactions include unseen ones at the microscopic level between our microbiome and the environment. My research explores the relationship between urban dwellers and the airborne microbial environment, called the urban aerobiome microclimate. At the Hénaff Laboratory for Living Interfaces, I aim to develop a framework to evaluate this using environmental conditions, social demographics, and microbial diversity. As technology advances, I hope to compare microbial biodiversity, identify distinct locations, and assess their vulnerabilities, helping us understand how urban microbiomes affect human well-being, including non-communicable diseases linked to space. I have also developed science communication tools to raise awareness of and empathy for microbes, which influence environmental justice as much as the air we breathe does.

Diedre’s Projects

Title	Type	Venue	Date	People	Topics	Projects	Link
Building Urban Data Community - NYU Open Data Creators' Forum	Talk	NYU Tandon, 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201	04/09/2026	Diedre Brown		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	guides.nyu.edu
‣ 🦠 3-2-1…Green Team Microbes!!!	ServiceWorkshopOutreach	Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY	11/08/2025	Diedre Brown Caroline Lou		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates
📬 The Hénaff Lab Summer Tour	TalkConference PresentationPoster PresentationSymposium		06/15/2025 → 06/27/2025	Alma Rocha Phoebe Mankiewicz Diedre Brown Hao-Wei Shih Karolina Sulich Elizabeth Hénaff		Gowanus Canal Microbiome Urban Aerobiome Microclimates Green Walls and the Indoor Microbiome
2024 NYU Climate Week Kick-Off	ExhibitLLI	Governor’s Island, New York, NY	09/22/2024	Diedre Brown		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	nyclimateexchange.org
Green Team Workshop	ServiceOutreach	Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY	11/11/2023	Progga Nabiha Bhuiyan Harry Trethowan Diedre Brown Elizabeth Hénaff		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.fortgreenepark.org
Assessment of Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	Conference PresentationNYU seminar	NYU Urban Research Day, New York, NY	03/06/2024	Diedre Brown Elizabeth Hénaff		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.nyu.edu
tHrIVE	Conference PresentationExhibitLLIAward	2023 BioDesign Challenge, Museum of Modern Art, NYC	06/22/2023 → 06/23/2023	Sheila Atieno Diedre Brown Tori Coleman Ands Sanchez Anshika Srivastava	Holobiont Interactions Microbiomes and the Anthropocene Biological Metrics and Design	Aerobiomes as seen by Honeybees	www.biodesignchallenge.org
tHrIVE wins the Science Sandbox Prize for Public Engagement at the 2023 Biodesign Challenge	Award	Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY	06/23/2023	Ands Sanchez Sheila Atieno Tori Coleman Diedre Brown Anshika Srivastava	Microbiomes and the Anthropocene	Aerobiomes as seen by Honeybees	www.biodesignchallenge.org
Empathy for the Faceless: Using Coloring Books to Explore the Urban Aerobiome Microclimate	SymposiumTalk	NYC Science Education and Outreach Symposium (Supported by Society for Science and March for Science NYC)	03/09/2024	Diedre Brown		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates
NYU Urban Doctoral Fellowship 2023-2024 Cohort	Award	NYU Urban	09/01/2023 → 05/31/2024	Diedre Brown		Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.nyu.edu
Assessment of Hyperlocal Urban Aerobiomes	Conference Presentation	52nd International Conference on Urban Affairs, New York, NY	04/25/2024	Diedre Brown Progga Nabiha Bhuiyan Harry Trethowan Tori Coleman Elizabeth Hénaff	Holobiont Interactions, Resilient Cities	Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	urbanaffairsassociation.org
Assessment of Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	Conference Presentation	8th Annual Urban Soils Symposium – Metabolism of Cities ,The Arts Center at Governor’s Island	12/12/2023	Diedre Brown Harry Trethowan Progga Nabiha Bhuiyan Tori Coleman	Holobiont Interactions	Urban Aerobiome Microclimates	www.youtube.com