Introducing the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group: Considering the Microbial Components of Social, Environmental, and Health Justice

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ABSTRACT

Humans are inextricably linked to each other and our natural world, and microorganisms lie at the nexus of those interactions. Microorganisms form genetically flexible, taxonomically diverse, and biochemically rich communities, i.e., microbiomes that are integral to the health and development of macroorganisms, societies, and ecosystems. Yet engagement with beneficial microbiomes is dictated by access to public resources, such as nutritious food, clean water and air, safe shelter, social interactions, and effective medicine. In this way, microbiomes have sociopolitical contexts that must be considered. The Microbes and Social Equity (MSE) Working Group connects microbiology with social equity research, education, policy, and practice to understand the interplay of microorganisms, individuals, societies, and ecosystems. Here, we outline opportunities for integrating microbiology and social equity work through broadening education and training; diversifying research topics, methods, and perspectives; and advocating for evidence-based public policy that supports sustainable, equitable, and microbial wealth for all.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Suzanne L. Ishaq:

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2615-8055

Jack A. Gilbert: Role: Editor

Catherine Lozupone:

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4786-7202

Role: ad hoc peer reviewer

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): mSystems

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): mSystems

Journal ID (publisher-id): msystems

Title: mSystems

Publisher: American Society for Microbiology (1752 N St., N.W., Washington, DC )

ISSN (Electronic): 2379-5077

Publication date (Electronic, pub): 27 July 2021

Publication date (Electronic, collection): Jul-Aug 2021

Publication date PMC-release: 27 July 2021

Volume: 6

Issue: 4

Electronic Location Identifier: e00471-21

Affiliations

[a ] University of Maine, School of Food and Agriculture, Orono, Maine, USA

[b ] Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia Humana y Neuropsicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile

[c ] Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

[d ] Gonzaga University, Department of Biology, Spokane, Washington, USA

[e ] grid.134563.6University of Arizona, , School of Anthropology, Tucson, Arizona, USA

[f ] Stevens Institute of Technology, Science and Technology Studies, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

[g ] grid.189967.8Emory University, , Atlanta, Georgia, USA

[h ] American International College of Arts and Sciences of Antigua, Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies

[i ] Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

[j ] University of Sheffield, Department of Landscape Architecture, Sheffield, United Kingdom

[k ] Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruzgrid.205975.c, , Santa Cruz, California, USA

[l ] National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz, California, USA

[m ] Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

[n ] Department of Genetics, Cell, and Development, grid.17635.36University of Minnesota, , Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

[o ] University of Oregon, Biology and the Built Environment Center, Eugene, Oregon, USA

[p ] School of the Environment, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA

[q ] Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

[r ] Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

[s ] Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Damegrid.131063.6, , Notre Dame, Indiana, USA

[t ] University of San Francisco, Department of Biology, San Francisco, California, USA

[u ] Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

[v ] Social Science Program, University of Maine at Augusta, Augusta, Maine, USA

[w ] University of Maine, Graduate School of Biomedical Science & Engineering, Bangor, Maine, USA

[x ] Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

[y ] Field of Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

[z ] grid.94365.3dNational Institutes of Health, , Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

[aa ] School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, grid.36425.36Stony Brook University, , Stony Brook, New York, USA

[bb ] Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

[cc ] Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

[dd ] Eugene, Oregon, USA

[ee ] Robert Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA

[ff ] Finch Therapeutics, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA

[gg ] Environmental Studies Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA

[hh ] Department of Philosophy, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA

University of California San Diego

School of Medicine, University of Colorado

Author notes

Citation Ishaq SL, Parada FJ, Wolf PG, Bonilla CY, Carney MA, Benezra A, Wissel E, Friedman M, DeAngelis KM, Robinson JM, Fahimipour AK, Manus MB, Grieneisen L, Dietz LG, Pathak A, Chauhan A, Kuthyar S, Stewart JD, Dasari MR, Nonnamaker E, Choudoir M, Horve PF, Zimmerman NB, Kozik AJ, Darling KW, Romero-Olivares AL, Hariharan J, Farmer N, Maki KA, Collier JL, O’Doherty KC, Letourneau J, Kline J, Moses PL, Morar N. 2021. Introducing the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group: considering the microbial components of social, environmental, and health justice. mSystems 6:e00471-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00471-21.