Esmeralda Herrero graduated from University College Dublin (UCD) with a BSc in Pharmacology and completed a PhD in Microbiology in University College Dublin. Her research investigated bacterial proteases and their role in prion decontamination and was filed into a UK patent in 2015. Following her PhD, Esmeralda worked for a year as research and development scientist for a novel biotech company before her role as scientific officer in virology in airmid healthgroup.
Esmeralda has over 5 years research experience in mammalian cell culture, molecular biology, bacterial culturing, infectious assays, protein purification, protein biochemistry and laboratory management
Tristan Russell BSc. PhD
Tristan graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc in Microbiology. During his degree, Tristan completed a one-year internship at a pharmaceutical company where he gained experience of working in an industrial laboratory. Tristan moved to Ireland in 2014 after choosing to study for a PhD at University College Dublin. The PhD research used molecular biology techniques to study infectious disease, specifically host-virus interactions. Tristan recently graduated from his PhD and joined the virology team at airmid healthgroup in the spring of 2019.
Kevin Ellison
Kevin is in his third year at DCU where he has been studying Genetics and Cell biology. He is working in the Environmental Chambers under the supervision of Jake Behan.
What do you do if you feel that your home or office is stuffy? There are some obvious benefits to opening a window. An open window helps provide a room with air changes, which means the air within a space is exchanged. Air from an open window can replace the stagnant room air, which may be contaminated with mold, bacteria or viruses that could cause illness. The increased ventilation can help decrease carbon-dioxide levels that build over time due to room occupants’ breathing. High levels of carbon dioxide can cause fatigue and headaches. Harmful chemicals that have off-gassed from paints, furniture, or cooking can also be removed with adequate air changes from an open window.
Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are often described as the "lungs" of a building1. They can range in size from small stand-alone units serving a single room to large centrally controlled systems that serve multiple rooms in a building. HVAC systems in modern public and commercial buildings can provide heating, cooling, filtered outdoor air and humidity control to maintain comfort conditions in the building2. However, not all HVAC systems are designed to accomplish all of these functions. Some buildings rely only on natural ventilation while others lack mechanical cooling equipment (air conditioning, AC), and many function with little or no humidity control. Thermal comfort is commonly maintained with heated or cooled air that is mechanically distributed throughout the building.
