b'The five workshops we designed and led have seen 236 attendees with an approximate mix of 60:40 academics and industry partners. These have all taken the format of exploring the key unmet needs from industry, how the current state of the science and technology landscape could address these requirements and, in doing so, developed a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges. The outputs from our five workshops are summarised below. Four of these represent our key strategic themes: Prevent, Detect, Manage and Engineer. The fifth is a workshop we ran on Microbe - Metal Interactions in conjunction with the Center for Biofilm Engineering. BIOFILM PREVENTION Key needs that emerged were:In 2021, NBIC held a workshop aimed at exploringThe lack of suitable biofilm model systems to evaluate unmet industrial needs and resulting researchthe impact of new approaches in the lab that are relevant questions in the field of biofilm prevention.and predictive for the end setting. It is clear that an Prevention relates to impacting the early stagesimproved understanding of the factors promoting or of microbial adhesion and colonisation events atinhibiting biofilm formation is needed, and how this varies surfaces and the curtailing of the development ofwith different species. A much deeper understanding early-stage biofilms so that surface performanceof the early colonisation mechanisms leading to biofilm is retained. In many commercial fields (e.g.,formation is also required.medical, marine and the built environment) this is a primary need and is one of the key purposes ofKnowing how to sustain the impact of a surface their products, for example to prevent colonisationtreatment with time and as it consequently becomes of indwelling or implantable medical devices. It isconditioned by its local environment.clear the question concerning the best approachesDeveloping innovative approaches for biofilm to prevent biofilm formation remains a significantprevention that have the cost and scale needed for challenge to both academics and industry. Commonend market use (e.g., contrast the scale of surface approaches are aimed at modifying the surfacetreatment needed for an implanted pacemaker with topology or chemistry of the target item or surface.the treatment of a whole cargo ship, which are both This has resulted in what remain a number of unmetintended to prevent biofilms).or poorly met needs in the field of biofilm prevention which were explored at the workshop.Improved translational funding and activities to assess the benefits of novel interventions in real world or model systems relevant to the end use. Standards: as with other areas in the field of biofilms there are a lack of standard methods for testing and claims generation and often a large difference between academic and industry models, equipment, skills and practice.At the workshop, there was a consensus that NBIC was well placed to influence the direction of research in this area, to enhance interactions and collaboration between academia and industry, and to be involved in arguing for the creation of uniform associated standards and methods for testing and claims generation.31'