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Assistant Professor Mark Fretz is Interim Co-Director, Institute for Health in the Built Environment and Assistant Professor of Architecture in the College of Design and director of the Institute’s industry research consortium, Build Health. Prior to studying and practicing architecture, Mark was a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and has transitioned from investigating oral microbiomestobuildingmicrobiomesandarchitecturaldesign, bringingthistransdisciplinary background into architectural design practice, teaching and research. As a designer, Mark has worked on projectsrangingfromproductdesigntohealthcare,housing,embassy,andcommercialbuildingtypologies to district scale master planning. As a researcher and formerclinician, he synthesizes this transdisciplinary background to facilitate knowledge exchange between the Institute’s Build Health industry research consortium, research labs, external collaborators and community. His research, teaching and creative practice focus on exploring the unseen experiential design elements in the built environment that affect human health across multiple scales ranging from microbes and molecules to energy and carbon. An important themeinthisexplorationincludesunderstandinghowhumanmigrationfromoutdoortoindoordwelling has affected evolutionary mechanisms connected with health and how architectural design can restore these relationships.

Research Assistant Professor Gwynne Mhuireach earned a MArch and PhD in Landscape Architecture from UO. She primarily studies microbial communities associated with plants, soil, and air in urban and peri-urban environments but also has larger research interests in understanding how productive landscapes, such as farms and gardens, can promote human well-being. In addition to her academic endeavors, Gwynne owns and operates a small diversified livestock farm and community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. A third-generation Oregon farmer, she is passionate about local, sustainable agriculture and rebuilding people’s intimate connections with the food they eat.

Professor Gail Langellotto leads the Garden Ecology Lab at Oregon State University, where she and her team study plants, people, and practices that promote or inhibit urban ecosystem services. Gail is a strong advocate for accessible science communication, frequently speaking at gardening conferences and lecture series for topics including pollinators, native plants, sustainable gardening, and urban agriculture. She has also developed numerous online and in-person curricula for undergraduate, graduate, and noncredit courses in pest management, agroecology, IPM, entomology, and sustainable gardening. Gail is profoundly committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) across all aspects of her work. She cochaired the development of the OSU College of Agricultural Science’s inaugural Strategic Action Plan for Inclusive Excellence and co-led the College’s Culture, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion task force, her Department’s DEI committee, and Oregon’s Extension Master Gardener Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion task force.