About

The 2025 PreMiEr SEI Symposium is a virtual workshop designed to bring together researchers, engineers, ethicists, and policymakers to examine the societal and ethical dimensions of microbiome engineering in the built environment. Over the course of the afternoon, participants will explore governance frameworks, public perceptions, and strategies for meaningful community engagement. This symposium provides a collaborative space to critically assess the broader implications of microbiome research and identify pathways for responsible innovation.

What is PreMiEr?

The Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) studies and improves the microbiomes of the built environment.

It is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded collaboration between Duke University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (N.C. A&T), North Carolina State University (NCSU), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte).

For more information on PreMiEr, please visit: https://premier-microbiome.org/

What is SEI?

All research and activities within PreMiEr are guided and done in collaboration with the Societal and Ethical Implications (SEI) Core.

PreMiEr’s work evokes a range of SEI issues at the intersection of health and environmental risk, medical ethics, research ethics, environmental release of GMOs, public trust and perceptions, privacy and regulation, and responsible governance.

PreMiEr provides a unique opportunity to engage researchers, engineers, stakeholders, and publics in emerging conversations about engineered microbiomes in built environments.

The ERC also enables novel and ground-breaking scholarly examination of SEI aspects of microbiome engineering for built environments.

For more information on PreMiEr’s SEI work, please visit: https://go.ncsu.edu/nsf-premier

Workshop Objectives

• Share Recent SEI Research Findings: Highlight new results and insights from ongoing projects exploring the societal and ethical dimensions of microbiome engineering in the built environment.
• Gather Feedback and Foster Collaboration: Invite input from researchers, practitioners, and community members to refine current work and identify new partnership opportunities.
• Reflect on SEI Integration: Provide space for participants to discuss how social and ethical considerations can be better embedded into microbiome engineering research and practice.
• Set Future Agendas: Identify emerging questions and priority areas to guide continued SEI research, engagement, and responsible governance efforts.

See the workshop agenda and speakers below for details.

Speakers

Agenda

Workshop Organizers

• Dr. Jennifer Kuzma, Goodnight-NCGSK Foundation Distinguished Professor, Associate Director of PreMiEr, and Co-Founder/ADirector of the GES Center
• Dr. Kristen Landreville, Senior Research Scholar with the GES Center
• Patti Mulligan, Communications Director with the GES Center

Archive: 2024 PreMiEr SEI Workshop

Revisit the presentations from the PreMiEr SEI workshop held at NC State on May 15-16, 2024 at go.ncsu.edu/mobe

Related Publications

See SEI and Microbiomes research publications here.