The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene three meetings of experts to discuss ways of enabling and leveraging transdisciplinary biotechnology research and development to address critical defense needs. These meetings of experts will be held under the auspices of the Standing Committee on Advances and National Security Implications of Transdisciplinary Biotechnology.

• The first meeting of experts will focus on ways to foster a research and development network in the United States that drives biotechnology innovation and applications.
• The second meeting of experts will focus on understanding future defense needs and ways to communicate those needs to the research community.
• The third meeting of experts will focus on understanding the regulatory processes and needs in the United States to enhance development of innovative biotechnologies for defense and subsequently, to transition defense-specific biotechnologies and services to other sectors.

Each meeting will highlight how more general concepts relate to specific biotechnologies using two illustrative examples: 1) use of artificial intelligence in biotechnology research and development; and 2) experimental/laboratory automation in biotechnology and development.