The National Academies' Board on Life Sciences, working in partnership with the NAE, IOM, and Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment will assess the current state of knowledge regarding microbial communities (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.), or "microbiomes" of the built environment, and the implications for human health, sustainability, security, and the design, construction, and operation of physical infrastructural systems and other elements of built environments. The committee will:

• Assess needs, opportunities, and challenges for the practical application of what is currently known about microbiome/built environment interactions.
• Determine if the knowledge developed to date is adequate to assess the impacts of existing policies and practices (e.g., energy efficiency, air quality and building standards and regulations, standards for the design of infrastructural systems, voluntary systems for rating green buildings, etc.) on the microbiomes of the built environment; the resulting implications for human health, sustainability, and security; and in cases where the knowledge is found to be adequate, summarize the impacts and implications.
• Identify the scientific, technical, engineering and health-related knowledge gaps and map out basic and applied research agendas and priorities for built environments with regard to microbiome and microbial-oriented research, building and infrastructure-oriented research, health-oriented research, and tools and methods development.
• Consider the economic, legal, and regulatory implications of intentional design and maintenance of built environments to influence microbiomes, as well as social, ethical and public engagement dimensions thereof.

The committee may also recommend additional actions to advance understanding of microbiome/built environment interactions and accelerate the application of existing and new knowledge in this area to improve the design of built environments for human health, economy, sustainability, and other dimensions of built environment performance.

The thirdmeeting of the committee for this study will consist of two days of data gathering presentations and breakout sessions that will allow attendees to participate in the discussions. An agenda will be posted when more details regarding speakers and breakout session topics are available.

A free, international webcast of the meeting will be available for anyone who can not attend in person. This webcast feed will be recorded and archived on the project website following the conclusion of the meeting. We invite anyone who is interested in attending the breakout session portions of the meeting to attend in person, as the breakout sessions will not be webcast.

FAQs

Is this meeting being held in California?

Yes! This meeting is being held at the National Academies' Beckman Center at the University of California, Irvine. The Beckman Center is located at 100 Academy Drive in Irvine, CA. There is free parking at the facility, although we encourage participants to carpool whenever possible. The meeting remains free and open to the public, and will be webcast internationally.

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Please email builtmicrobiome@nas.edu with any questions.

Is there a link to the study website?

Yes, the study website is http://nas-sites.org/builtmicrobiome/

Is an agenda available for this event?

Yes! Please click here to view the meeting's agenda.