University of Minnesota to play key role in pioneering air safety research
Partnership with Mayo Clinic will set standards for air quality in healthcare settings
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (12/01/2025) — A team of University of Minnesota Twin Cities mechanical engineering researchers will play a key role in groundbreaking research focused on improving indoor air quality and safety in healthcare settings.
Mayo Clinic will lead the Hospital Air QUality (HAIQU): Breathing Life into Patient Care project that will receive up to $40 million from the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The project, part of the ARPA-H BREATHE program.
Through the HAIQU project, Mayo Clinic will introduce cutting-edge biosensors, artificial intelligence, and smart air filtration systems in emergency departments across Mayo Clinic's campuses in Florida, Arizona, and Minnesota. These innovative technologies work together to enhance air quality by proactively monitoring the environment, assessing potential risks, and automatically improving air safety when needed—creating healthier spaces for patients and care teams alike.
The University of Minnesota team will design the air sampling systems used to collect particles and pathogens for analysis.
“The University of Minnesota faculty, staff, and alumni have more than 50 years of expertise in designing systems for sampling and measuring tiny particles in the air, called aerosols, in a variety of environments around the world from clean rooms used in semiconductor processing to health care settings,” said Professor Chris Hogan, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering who will lead the University of Minnesota team.
Hogan specifically highlighted the work of Bernard Olson, a senior research associate in the University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, who has more than 30 years experience in designing air sampling devices and is considered one of the world's leading experts in building and testing these systems.
“The BREATHE program will build sampling systems specifically aimed at bioaerosol and pathogen detection,” Hogan said. “The end result will be indoor spaces safer from the spread of disease via aerosols.”
The project will unfold in three phases over five years, beginning with the development of a biosensor to monitor emergency room air for aerosols such as viruses, bacteria, mold, and allergens. Once validated, the system will undergo real-world testing and could lay the foundation for future indoor air quality standards and public health policies.
The Mayo Clinic-led coalition brings together expertise from the healthcare, biotechnology, and academic sectors. In addition to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, other collaborators include Siemens Corporation, Metalmark Innovations, Princeton University, and The University of Chicago.