Airborne Biodiversity Genomics – global-scale nature, wildlife and pathogen monitoring
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Mar. 2, 2026
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Airborne Biodiversity Genomics – global-scale nature, wildlife and pathogen monitoring
Speaker: David Duffy
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Greetings Members, Rotarians, Friends and Guests:
Want to Learn More About Us? - Who We Are, What We Do, Why We Do It
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Raj Bhandari - Club Member
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft.
Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
Inspiration
Let's kick March into high gear with a great motivational messages. Want to get better at something? Here's how to do it. It's the power of "yet."
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
"People, Let Your Light Shine"
Living things may actually shine with visible light until they die
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PROGRAM: Airborne Biodiversity Genomics – global-scale nature, wildlife and pathogen monitoring
SPEAKER: David Duffy
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
The convergence of advanced genomic sequencing technologies and innovative environmental sampling approaches are enabling discovery at whole biome scales and across the tree of life, from microbes to mammals. These technologies are taking us ever closer to the realization of the lifeform detection capabilities of the fictional Star Trek tricorder. Environmental DNA (eDNA) comprises trace amounts of genetic material shed by organisms as they traverse and interact with their environment. Genetic material can enter the environment from shed skin, hair, scales, bodily fluids, defecation and even with every exhaled breath. This genetic material can now be recovered from the air, water or sediment samples, and can reveal a wealth of information about a region’s inhabitants, from sea turtles to bobcats (lynx), humans to mosquitoes, and even microbes and allergens.
These ultra-rich eDNA genomics datasets can be used to quantify the genetic material from each organism and understand what species are present, their origin, and their genetic diversity. These emerging technologies enable the simultaneous study of viral to vertebrate genomes, and unlock their genetic secrets for a wide variety of downstream applications. These include (1) biodiversity monitoring, (2) flora, fauna and microbial population genetics, (3) pathogen and disease vector genomic surveillance, (4) allergen and narcotic surveillance, (5) antimicrobial resistance surveillance, (6) ecosystem-scale genome mining for drug discovery, and (7) human genetic diversity, disease risk, and genetic ancestry analyses from airborne DNA. This talk will introduce recent advances in airborne DNA genomics, discuss their implications, and explore their promise for diverse fields such as endangered wildlife conservation, genetic diversity and drug discovery, and pathogen and disease vector surveillance.
David Duffy is the Condron Family Endowed Associate Professor of Wildlife Disease Genomics at the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience & Sea Turtle Hospital, with over 20 years' experience in molecular, genomics, wildlife conservation, cancer and environmental studies. His team conducts laboratory-based, clinical, computational and field-based research. His lab focuses on threats to sea turtles and biodiversity, including plastic ingestion and a sea turtle cancer induced by a pathogen and pollution exposure. The lab also works on the development of advanced eDNA technologies for wildlife, biodiversity, pollution and pathogen monitoring. This includes eDNA analysis from air, sediment and aquatic (freshwater, seawater, estuarine) sources. They also pioneer human eDNA applications.
Members and guests, please welcome David Duffy!
To learn more, go to:
To learn more about Dr Duffy's work, go to:
https://www.whitney.ufl.edu/people/current-research-faculty/david-duffy-phd/
Science media article on airborne eDNA:
https://www.science.org/content/article/dna-captured-air-could-track-wildlife-invasive-species-and-humans
Sea Turtle Hospital webpage:
https://www.whitney.ufl.edu/conservation--sea-turtle-hospital/about-the-sea-turtle-hospital/
Paper on airborne DNA genomics: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02711-w
Paper on human eDNA and ethics: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02056-2
Media article on airborne eDNA:
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0610/1518005-dublin-air-quality-dna-genetics-monitoring/
Media article on airborne DNA genomics: https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/2025/06/26/scanning-the-air-for-life/
Press release on airborne DNA genomics: https://news.ufl.edu/2025/06/air-environmental-dna/
Human eDNA potential and ethical implications news story:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/15/science/environmental-dna-ethics-privacy.html
Human eDNA potential and ethical implications news story: https://us.cnn.com/2023/05/15/health/human-dna-captured-from-air-scn/index.html
USA Today news story on eDNA capabilities:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/08/26/staggering-dna-advances-could-improve-response-climate-change/10000538002/
Sea turtle cancers BBC television segment:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/63125522
Sea turtle plastic ingestion news segment:
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/life/animals/uf-scientists-collect-sea-turtle-dna-from-sand-water/77-ac1c0331-032a-4148-a10f-f4906a2405dc
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as many other platforms.
Our weekly podcast is now called:
Inspiring People - Stories of Innovation and Service
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers
Our newest podcast celebrates trailblazing women. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
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