Under the auspices of the Standing Committee on Advances and National Security Implications of Transdisciplinary Biotechnology, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc planning committee to plan and facilitate a workshop on mirror biology, focusing on the state of the science, trends in research and development, risks and benefits of this research, and considerations relating for future governance of relevant enabling technologies. The committee will engage scientists, technologists, policymakers, journalists, biosecurity experts, and ethicists who work in fields associated with the design and development of living systems to discuss the following questions during the workshop:

• What is mirror biology and why is it being studied?
• What is the state of the science in mirror biology and recent milestones in mirror biology?
• What are the scientific and technological hurdles associated with mirror biology? What research is ongoing to overcome these challenges?
• What are the proposed applications for research involving mirror biology and what societal benefits are anticipated from such advances?
• What are the accidental and deliberate biological risks associated with mirror biology? Which risk assessment methodologies are suitable to assess those risks?
• In what ways can the risks be minimized and benefits be maintained and/or maximized? Are these approaches similar for all relevant sectors (e.g., health, bioeconomy, biodefense, agriculture, other)?
• What can be done both domestically and internationally to enable responsible innovation in mirror biology and its application to various sectors?

Major themes emerging from the workshop will be summarized in a proceedings and associated interactive website.