Planning and Executing Scientifically Sound Community Science in a Public-Facing Institution

Nuessle, Tiffany M.; McNamara, Patricia A.; Garneau, Nicole L.

doi:10.5334/cstp.263

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…This study was aimed as both a scientific study and a visitor participation experience which engages the participants to "create content" and gather a better understanding of scientific methods 34,54,55 . These results are relevant to the scientific community because they demonstrate (similar to the American Gut Project) that important human microbiome trends can be recovered using a citizen science model, which can be a powerful and cost-effective means for collecting from a large population, and engages the public in science 33 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a crowdsourced, cross-sectional convenience oral microbiome sampling of guests visiting the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in Colorado, USA to gain diverse, community-based data across age ranges, health statuses, and families for people living in an urban center of a Western industrialized country. Methods for the generation of crowdsourced data and utilization of citizen science at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is outlined in Nuessle et al (2020) 34 . Using this citizen science model, trained volunteer citizen scientists facilitated the collection from guests of buccal swabs for microbiome characterization.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Patterns of Oral Microbiota Diversity in Adults and Children: A Crowdsourced Population Study

Burcham

Garneau

Comstock

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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102

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Genetics of taste Lab citizen Scientists † oral microbiome dysbiosis has been associated with various local and systemic human diseases such as dental caries, periodontal disease, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Bacterial composition may be affected by age, oral health, diet, and geography, although information about the natural variation found in the general public is still lacking. in this study, citizen-scientists used a crowdsourcing model to obtain oral bacterial composition data from guests at the Denver Museum of nature & Science to determine if previously suspected oral microbiome associations with an individual's demographics, lifestyle, and/or genetics are robust and generalizable enough to be detected within a general population. consistent with past research, we found bacterial composition to be more diverse in youth microbiomes when compared to adults. Adult oral microbiomes were predominantly impacted by oral health habits, while youth microbiomes were impacted by biological sex and weight status. the oral pathogen Treponema was detected more commonly in adults without recent dentist visits and in obese youth. Additionally, oral microbiomes from participants of the same family were more similar to each other than to oral microbiomes from non-related individuals. these results suggest that previously reported oral microbiome associations are observable in a human population containing the natural variation commonly found in the general public. furthermore, these results support the use of crowdsourced data as a valid methodology to obtain community-based microbiome data. Oral microbiome dysbiosis has been associated with various local and systemic human diseases including dental caries, periodontal disease, obesity, and cardiovascular disease 1-5. Proper oral health care habits can help reduce abundance of taxa associated with pathogenic states. For example, flossing has been associated with decreased concentrations of the dental pathogen Streptococcus mutans 6 , and brushing of the teeth and tongue significantly decreases microbes associated with dental diseases 7,8. It is estimated that over 600 bacteria species are commonly associated with the oral microbiome, with a subset of these proposed to be part of a consortium called the "core oral microbiome" 9-11. Genera often considered associated with the core microbiome include Streptococcus, Veillonella, Neisseria, and Actinomyces, which are shared by most healthy individuals 12,13. Maintaining the balance of core healthy bacteria in the oral microbiota plays a critical role not only in oral health but in overall health. Oral microbiome composition is suspected to be affected by additional variables including host genetics 14,15 , geography 4,16 , diet 17,18 , age 19-21 , and cohabitation 22-24. For example, comparative studies between European, African, Asian, and American populations discovered microbial variation between populations, and other studies describe ethnicity-specific clustering within the United States 15,25,26. The effect of diet...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Oral Microbiota Diversity in Adults and Children: A Crowdsourced Population Study

Burcham

Garneau

Comstock

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

102

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“…It aimed to replicate the well-established findings of a previous study on the topic of supertasting-namely that both the ability to detect the bitter compound propylthiouracil and its perceived strength are due primarily to three variations within the TAS2R38 gene (Bartoshuk, Duffy, & Miller, 1994), and to document guests' level of engagement with the study process and its impact on their understanding of study-related topics. The Bitter Study replicated the genetic findings of Bartoshuk et al (1994) and successfully demonstrated that the community science model could be implemented in a museum and collect quality human subject data from crowdsourced participants (see Garneau et al, 2014;Nuessle et al, 2020). An independent evaluation confirmed that museum guests thoroughly enjoyed their experience as Bitter Study enrollees and advanced their understanding of the relationship between genetics and taste.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Individuals willing to make a more long-term commitment can apply to join the Lab as a volunteer community (citizen) scientist. These community scientists spend approximately four hours every week in the Lab learning how to ethically collect and scientifically analyze human subject data (Nuessle, McNamara, & Garneau, 2020). The purpose of this paper is to report on the guest experience of public participation in scientific research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using Museum Guests as Crowdsourced Participants in Human Subject Research

Nuessle¹,

McNamara²,

Garneau³

2020

Curator The Museum Journal

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The Genetics of Taste Lab is a community‐based lab studying human genetics at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. From 2009–2019, nearly 10,000 Museum guests have had the opportunity to become crowdsourced participants contributing phenotypic and genetic data to the lab’s taste and genetics research studies. This case study, presenting evaluation data collected during a Baseline study and during our Savory & Sour Study shows that museum guests both enjoy and value participating in authentic genetics research. By contributing quality data to advance scientists’ understanding of the genetics of taste, they are also learning specific details about the study topics and how those relate to their own lives. Highlighting the above case study and drawing upon our other studies as needed, we hope that our experience—both our successes and challenges—will be a resource for other institutions interested in implementing a crowdsourcing research model in human health.

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