Practitioner-driven research for improving the outcomes of mold inspection and remediation

This commentary is intended to provide a research roadmap for utilizing recent chemical and molecular-biological technological advances for addressing dampness and mold in buildings. The perspective is unique in that both the mold industry practitioners and academic researchers drive the questions. Research needs were derived from a 2018 international workshop attended by practitioners, researchers and governmental representatives, where challenges and opportunities in the mold re mediation and restoration field were discussed focusing on the need to develop new tools that improve building diagnosis and clearance certification for mold inspectors and remediators. Suggestions are made on how new technologies surrounding DNA-based sequence analysis for fungal and bacterial identification and real-time chemical sensor technology can be leveraged by practitioners to improve inspection and remediation. The workshop put into effect a logical progression to distill and extract practice-based implications and encourage the process of transfer of the science to practice. Goals for the workshop, and this subsequent paper, are also centered on encouraging US government-funding agencies to better position and define research on the built environment geared for end-user scientists and practitioners to better explore practical solutions to dampness and mold in indoor environments. By facilitating the workshop forum and targeting industry, field practitioners, and government agencies, a sharing of needed commonalities may be infused into future research agendas and outreach efforts. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

This commentary provides a research roadmap for utilizing chemical and molecular-biological technological advances to address dampness and mold in buildings, emphasizing the collaboration between industry practitioners and academic researchers. The main focus is on developing new tools to improve building diagnosis and clearance certification for mold inspectors and remediators. The workshop aims to encourage the transfer of scientific research into practical solutions for dampness and mold in indoor environments, targeting industry, field practitioners, and government agencies for collaboration in future research agendas.