Contact
Sarah Haines
Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering
University of Toronto
35 St. George St.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada, M5S 1A4
Office: GB 314C
Tel: 416-946-8362
Email: s.haines@utoronto.ca
Background
Professor Sarah Haines’ interdisciplinary research integrates building science, engineering, and microbiology to analyze the impact the built environment has on human health. She uses cutting-edge microbiology techniques such as next-generation sequencing, metatranscriptomics, and bioinformatics to understand the impact of moisture on indoor environmental quality. Linking to climate change, her research explores the impact of weatherization and extreme weather events on indoor air quality, particularly in low income communities who may be at a higher risk for asthma. Her work aids in understanding indoor exposures from microorganisms and chemicals providing for a cleaner and sustainable indoor environment
Research Interests
Building Science
Indoor Environmental Quality
Indoor Microbiome
Chemistry of the indoor environment
Microbial emissions
Education
PhD, Environmental Science, The Ohio State University (2021)
MASc, Environmental Science, The Ohio State University (2019)
BASc, Environmental Engineering, The Ohio State University (2017)
My research website
Publications
| Journal Publications |
|---|
| Haines, S.R., Hall, E.C., Katarzyna, M., Misztal, P.K., Goldstein, A.H., Adams, R.I., Dannemiller, K.C. (2021) Measuring microbial growth and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in carpet and drywall under various relative humidity conditions. Microbiome. |
| Hall, E.C., Haines, S.R., Katarzyna, M., Goldstein, A.H., Adams, R.I., Dannemiller, K.C., Misztal, P.K. (2021) Varying humidity increases emission of volatile nitrogen-containing compounds from building materials. Build Environ. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108290 |
| Rush, R.E., Cochran, S.J., Haines, S.R., Acosta, L., Divjan, A., Perzanowski, M.S., Dannemiller, K.C., Green, B.J. (2021) Vishniacozyma victoriae (syn. Cryptococcus victoriae) in the homes of asthmatic and non-asthmatic children in New York City. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00342-4 |
| Renninger, N., Nastasi, N., Bope, A., Cochran, S.J., Haines, S.R., Balasubrahmaniam, N., Stuart, K., Bivins, A., Bibby, K., Hull, N., Dannemiller, K.C. (2021) Indoor dust as a matrix for surveillance of COVID-19 outbreaks. mSystems. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.01350-20 |
| Haines, S.R., Siegel, J.A., Dannemiller, K.C., (2020) Modeling microbial growth in carpet dust exposed to diurnal variations in relative humidity using the “Time-of-Wetness” framework. Indoor Air. doi: 10.1111/ina.12686 Highlighted on Feature Cover (front cover) of journal. |
| Viegas, C., Caetano, L.A., Cox, J., Korkalainen, M., Haines, S.R., Dannemiller, K.C., Viegas, S., Reponen, J. (2020) The effects of microbial diversity in human alveolar macrophage cell viability and inflammatory responses: the waste sorting industry exposure scenario. Environmental Research. doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109450 |
| Nastasi, N., Haines, S.R., Xu, L., da Silva, H., Divjan, A., Barned, M., Rappleye, C., Perzanowski, M.S., Green, B., Dannemiller, K.C., (2020) Morphology and quantification of fungal growth in residential dust and carpets. Build Environ. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106774 |
| Haines S.R., Adams, R. I., Boor, B. E., Bruton, T., Downey, J., Ferro, A. R., Gall, E., et al. (2019) Ten Questions Concerning the Implications of Carpet on Indoor Chemistry and Microbiology. Build Environ. doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106589 |
| Haines S.R., Bope A., Horack J.M., Meyer M.E., Dannemiller K.C. (2019) Quantitative evaluation of bioaerosols in different particle size fractions in dust collected on the International Space Station (ISS). Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. doi: 10.1007/s00253-019-10053-4 |
| *Bope A., *Haines S.R., Hegarty B., Weschler C.J., Peccia J., Dannemiller K.C. (2019) Degradation of phthalate esters in floor dust at elevated relative humidity. Environ Sci Process Impacts. doi: 10.1039/c9em00050j. Nominated for inclusion in ESPI Best Papers collection; included in Emerging Investigator Series, highlighted on the inside front cover of the journal. *These authors contributed equally to the publication. |
| Zhang S., Shapiro N., Gehrke G., Castner J., Liu Z., Guo B., Prasad R., Zhang J., Haines S.R., Kormos D., Frey P., Qin R., Dannemiller K.C. (2019) Smartphone App for Residential Testing of Formaldehyde (SmART-Form). Build Environ 148:567–578 . doi: 10.1016/J.BUILDENV.2018.11.029 |
News Mentions
September 20, 2023 | India Education Diary
Professor Haines‘s laboratory space was approved for Containment Level 2 (CL2) biosafety by the Office of Environmental Health & Safety at the University of Toronto (EHS), allowing her to conduct experiments using environmentally collected micro-organisms and viruses. The working title of the lab is Indoor Microbiology and Environmental Exposures. The space was successfully repurposed from […]
Undergrad summer student research positions explored The following is part of a series introducing CivMin’s undergraduate summer students to the Department and our greater community. We explore the students’ projects, motivation and challenges, while providing insights into who they are, and what motivates them, beyond academia. It also highlights the multitude of ways summer research […]
A new research collaboration between Korean and Canadian institutions will explore the relationships between sustainable and resilient infrastructure and climate change Four U of T faculty, all from the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering (CivMin), travelled to Seoul National University (SNU) May 18 – 19, 2023 to participate in a workshop to develop an International […]
CivMin’s Prof. Sarah Haines is featured in a recent video as part of the “What’s Your Story?” series. This video series allows you to get to know U of T Engineering professors beyond the classroom. In the short interviews, they share what inspired them to pursue engineering, what keeps them up at night and a few things you may not expect – from superpowers […]
Ike Arzoumanian, a second-year Civil Engineering student, was part of a multidisciplinary team of three people to win first place at the Sustainable Buildings Challenge. The winning trio includes Eliany Rodriguez, a fourth-year architecture student and Javeriya Hasan, a PhD candidate in Building Science at Toronto Metropolitan University. The competition challenged undergraduate and graduate students […]
November 23, 2022 | MBC News
A new partnership, powered by a Connaught Global Challenge Award, will bring several First Nations in Saskatchewan together with a team of researchers from the University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University to develop new pathways toward housing self-sufficiency. “A key issue in these communities is the availability of building materials, specifically the reliance on […]
Four CivMin graduate students have been awarded scholarships from the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN). The feat is impressive, as half of the eight scholarships awarded have been granted to MASc and PhD candidates within the Department. A total pool of 40 applicants, representing more than a doubling of applicants since 2018, were reviewed. Our […]
Sarah Haines is an Assistant Professor who just started teaching with CivMin in January. Before joining U of T, she completed her undergrad, masters and PhD at Ohio State University. We recently connected with her to learn more about her research and why she’s so passionate about what she does. How do you like […]