Hello everyone,
Part of an iGEM project, our team has been working since the beginning of the confinement in France (end of March) on a survey around the skin microbiome.
We think that the lockdown that followed the pandemic, and the social distancing measures that we are still experiencing today, are impacting our skin microbiome. To explore this hypothesis, we are carrying a study in which some volunteers throughout Europe are asked to sample parts of their skin microbiome with swabs (provided by us). To participate, volunteers are first sent a consent form (which you can find here) that specifies what use will be made of their data. If the volunteer gives his or hers informed approval, we then make sure to be available to answer any question, and withdraw someone if he or she desires.
Afterwards, we will collect these swabs and have them analyzed by a sequencing company, Genewiz.
In the meantime, participants are asked to fulfill a questionnaire that will give us information about their level of confinement and hygiene habits (e.g. how much time they spend at home / outside, how frequently they wash, etc.). You can find this questionnaire here.
The results of this analysis will be used to understand better the dynamics of the skin microbiome, its evolution in the context of limited human interactions, and potentially identify unusual variations between different group of people, or potential rises of dysbiosis.
To respect people’s privacy, all personal data will remain anonymous. To fit this guideline, we have assigned to each participant a random ID number through a Open Humans page. This ID is used to link someone’s samples to his or hers questionnaire.
As we plan to have about 70 participants, having an approval could allow us to reach our goal, the registrations being currently limited to 40 people. Indeed, a greater sample of the European populations of whom we are studying the skin microbiome, represents for us a major requirement.
I hope this project has captured your interest and enthusiasm,
Je vous remercie,
Nicolas, on behalf of iGEM Paris-Bettencourt
