Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor; and AP or college level biology course. Note: LSCI 2255 BioDesign Challenge Lab, a one week 1.5 credit course will be offered Jan 14- 18 to prepare students with no lab skills for this course. Though most bacteria in buildings are friendly, forming the microbiome of the building, a small minority are pathogens, capable of causing disease in humans. In this authentic research course, students will join the research team of Prof. Smyth, and tackle questions regarding how pathogenic bacteria can reside and survive in buildings such as: Is the type of material important in determining how long a bacterium can stick to a surface? Are some types of bacteria stickier than others? Are chemicals used in buildings driving the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria?  Students will engage with the literature of antibiotic resistance research; learn about local citizen science projects, government-driven, national and global efforts to combat resistance; and finally, having conducted research and generated data, present their findings in a public forum to other scientists. The course involves isolating and characterizing antibiotic-resistant bacteria colonizing the campus, using a range of classical and next-generation microbiological techniques and correlating these findings with metagenetics, a novel technology that allows the researcher to sample all DNA at a site. Throughout, students will document their progress in online laboratory notebooks, participate in weekly lab meetings and discussions of the literature, conduct and troubleshoot experiments, and finally present their work in poster format.This course satisfies the laboratory requirement for the Interdisciplinary Science major or minor or the intermediate level requirement for the IS major. This course also satisfies the laboratory requirement for the Environmental Studies major, and the "subject by subject" course requirement for Journalism + Design Major. Permission of the instructor is required.