The Forum on Microbial Threats (Forum) was created in 1996 to address emerging, re-emerging, and novel infectious diseases and has become one of the leading places to address issues in microbial ecology and microbiology. The Forum gathers experts, develops agendas, conducts three meetings and two symposia per year, and publishes reports. Funds from this grant provide partial support to the Forum over a three-year period. Among the planned topics for future workshops and symposia is "The Movement of Microorganisms and the Microbial Ecology of the Built Environment", a workshop of interest to the Foundation's Microbiology of the Built Environment Program and one that will help set the stage for future efforts towards a full National Academies' study and report on the microbiology of built environments.