The White House announces $121 million Microbiome Initiative

(credit: The White House)

After focusing on cancer, the brain, and personalized medicine, the Obama Administration is now zooming in on the bustling microbial communities within us, on us, and all around us in our built and natural environments.

On Friday, the White House revealed the Microbiome Initiative, a nationwide project to coordinate and fund microbiome research. The federal government is investing $121 million into the program. Several agencies will chip into that number, including NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Agriculture. Additionally, more than 100 external organizations will add more money and projects to the pot, including $100 million in funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The initiative has three main goals: to fund interdisciplinary microbiome research, develop technologies that can be used across different research projects, and support a microbiome research workforce.