ARPA-H · BREATHE & PRO-MICROBE Programs
Five research teams are developing intelligent building systems that sense, assess, and protect — turning the buildings where Americans live, work, learn, and heal into active infrastructure for health.
Explore the Projects ↓Funded by ARPA-H's Proactive Health Mission Office.
A century ago, clean water transformed how long and how well Americans lived. Outdoor air quality followed. The air inside buildings — where we spend 90% of our time — is the next and missing pillar. BREATHE is building it.
Autonomous indoor air biosensors that continuously monitor the biological content of the air — allergens, mold spores, viruses, bacteria — multiplexed and scalable across building types and climate zones.
Bioaerosol risk assessment software that translates what's in the air — combined with building, community, and environmental data — into quantitative, real-time health-risk estimates for the people inside.
Intelligent building controls — filtration, ventilation, air treatment — that respond automatically to risk assessments, verified by real-time tracing technology that confirms clean air is reaching every room.
Each team is developing intelligent air systems for the environments that matter most — where children develop, where patients recover, where workers serve.
Developing nanobody-based biosensors for real-time pathogen and allergen detection in childcare settings — where early immune exposure shapes lifelong respiratory health.
Learn moreBuilding the world's first continuous, direct nucleic-acid detection system for schools — sensing up to 100 airborne organisms and triggering automatic building responses to protect kids and staff.
Learn moreApplying microfluidic CRISPR biosensors and digital twin modeling in hospital emergency departments to protect the patients who can least afford to get sick.
Learn moreDeploying qPCR-based biosensors and automated building controls across Defense Health Agency medical centers to protect immunocompromised patients and military personnel from airborne exposures.
Learn moreDeveloping the first Healthy Building Microbiome Index — a data-driven score linking a home's microbial ecology to the respiratory health of the people living there.
Learn moreActive across the United States — in schools, daycares, hospitals, defense health facilities, and homes. Hover over a highlighted state to explore.
Click any active state to explore that program. Map reflects confirmed performer and participant locations. Projects are ongoing.
The first public demonstration of the BREATHE and PRO-MICROBE programs — showcasing autonomous biosensing platforms, intelligent risk engines, and real-time building controls that are already protecting Americans.
Recap and highlights coming soon.