The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (The National Academies) will appoint a committee of experts to organize and convene a workshop to explore domestic and international advancements in biomanufacturing. The workshop will highlight examples of recent achievements in biomanufacturing and explore outstanding needs across science and policy to further enhance the circular bioeconomy. The activity will be an opportunity to bring together experts across diverse and relevant fields, such as the life sciences, biotechnology, engineering, and computer and information sciences, and policy to foster collaborative discussion and engagement in considering areas of mutual interest and greatest near-term impact in achieving and leveraging biomanufacturing.
Workshop presentations and discussions will include:
-Exploration of case studies from recent successes in the U.S. and internationally on the successful development of biomanufactured products and their application. Case studies will explore lessons learned with an emphasis on practices that could be applied in different contexts.
-Understanding challenges and bottlenecks that are related to specific types of biomanufacturing, and identifying those challenges that are universal across different biomanufacturing platforms. This could include challenges related to the science and engineering of biomanufacturing, scale-up, federal regulation, workforce gaps, and other factors that impact the transition to more sustainable biomanufacturing practices.
-Opportunities to learn from international practices in biomanufacturing, and to foster domestic and international collaboration. This includes leveraging collaborative platforms to expand biomanufacturing development and application.
-Exploration of international strategic plans that include the application and development of a circular bioeconomy to achieve net zero goals.
-Exploration of gaps in domestic infrastructure and coordination, and identification of successful international practices that could be deployed
The presentations and discussions at the workshop will be documented in a workshop proceedings-in-brief, written by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.