Airmid Healthgroup is proud to support the iAIR Institute Scientific Leadership Forum, which took place on 29 June 2026 at Cedar Door, Austin, Texas, alongside the 2026 ASHRAE Annual Conference. The forum brought together international leaders from engineering, medicine, academia, government and industry to explore one of the defining questions of our time: how can the built environment better support human health?
For Airmid Healthgroup, whose work sits at the intersection of rigorous independent science and the practical challenges of indoor environmental quality, this event represented exactly the kind of cross-disciplinary conversation that moves the field forward. Buildings are where people spend the vast majority of their lives. The quality of the air inside them, the surfaces they touch, and the invisible microbial ecosystems they inhabit all have measurable consequences for health. Science has a central role to play in making those consequences better understood, and in validating the technologies and approaches that can improve them.
Healthy Buildings at the Heart of ASHRAE 2026
The forum was convened by Dr John McKeon, Medical Director of Airmid Healthgroup and Principal of the iAIR Institute, in conversation with Dr Jessica Green, Program Manager for Resilient Systems at ARPA-H and leader of the BREATHE (Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total Health) programme. Dr Green brought to the evening a vision for buildings that do not simply shelter occupants from the outdoor environment, but actively monitor, understand and respond to airborne health risks in real time.
Among those joining the discussion were five Past Presidents of ASHRAE, alongside representatives from academia, government agencies, industry and professional societies. The breadth of the audience reflected something significant: healthy buildings are no longer a niche conversation within engineering. They are increasingly recognised as a public health imperative, relevant to clinicians, policymakers, architects, microbiologists and industry alike.
Discussions ranged across indoor environmental quality, infection resilience, airborne health risks, innovation in sensing technologies and the role of the indoor microbiome in shaping occupant health. Dr Green also shared insights from PRO-MICROBE, an ARPA-H initiative developing a microbial health score for buildings by linking indoor microbial and environmental conditions to occupant respiratory health. The idea that a building might one day carry a measurable, evidence-based health score reflects how rapidly this field is evolving.
The event was recognised by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as an approved continuing education activity, with participants awarded two Learning Units in Health, Safety and Welfare (LU|HSW), underscoring the growing importance of indoor environmental quality as a core consideration for built environment professionals. The forum was supported by Knauf North America, whose commitment to healthy building solutions reflects the vital role that industry collaboration plays in translating scientific knowledge into practical outcomes.
The Science Behind Healthy Buildings: Research and Resources
The forum coincided with Dr McKeon presenting new research at ASHRAE 2026 conducted using Airmid Healthgroup’s specialist 28.5m³ environmental chamber facilities. The study, presented on Sunday 28 June, evaluated the nanoparticle removal efficiency of a novel air purification system incorporating proprietary technology, addressing growing public health concern around indoor exposure to nanoparticles from outdoor pollution sources including wildfires, industrial emissions and tire wear. Further detail on that research, including study methodology and findings, is available in our earlier post.
At Airmid, our role is to provide the rigorous, independent scientific foundation that the healthy buildings field depends on. Whether that is evaluating air cleaner technology performance, testing the efficacy of antimicrobial surface treatments, or assessing airborne pathogen reduction in controlled chamber conditions, the work we do in our laboratory facilities directly informs the evidence base that standards bodies, product developers and building professionals rely on. Events like the iAIR Institute Scientific Leadership Forum are where that science meets policy, practice and innovation, and where the connections are made that shape the next generation of healthier indoor environments.
For the full press release covering the Scientific Leadership Forum, including quotes from Dr McKeon and Dr Jessica Green, visit the iAIR Institute newsroom.
View the press release on PRWeb.
