Twenty Important Research Questions in Microbial Exposure and Social Equity

Jake M Robinson¹, Nicole Redvers², Araceli Camargo³, Christina A Bosch⁴, Martin F Breed⁵, Lisa A Brenner⁶, Megan A Carney⁷, Ashvini Chauhan⁸, Mauna Dasari⁹, Leslie G Dietz¹⁰, Michael Friedman¹¹, Laura Grieneisen¹², Andrew J Hoisington¹³, Patrick F Horve¹⁴, Ally Hunter¹⁵, Sierra Jech¹⁶, Anna Jorgensen¹⁷, Christopher A Lowry¹⁸, Ioana Man¹⁹, Gwynne Mhuireach²⁰, Edauri Navarro-Pérez²¹, Euan G Ritchie²², Justin D Stewart²³, Harry Watkins^{24

25}, Philip Weinstein²⁶, Suzanne L Ishaq²⁷

Affiliations

¹ University of Sheffield, Department of Landscape Architecture, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
² Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of North Dakotagrid.266862.e School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
³ Centric Lab, London, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education, Kremen School of Education and Human Development, California State University, Fresno, California, USA.
⁵ College of Science and Engineering, Flinders Universitygrid.1014.4, Bedford Park, SA, Australia.
⁶ University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
⁷ School of the Environment, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
⁸ University of Arizonagrid.134563.6, School of Anthropology and Center for Regional Food Studies, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
⁹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
¹⁰ University of Oregon, Biology and the Built Environment Center, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
¹¹ American International College of Arts and Sciences of Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies.
¹² Department of Genetics, Cell, and Development, University of Minnesotagrid.17635.36, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
¹³ Department of System & Engineering Management, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
¹⁴ University of Oregon, Institute of Molecular Biology, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Student Development, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁶ University of Colorado Bouldergrid.266190.a, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
¹⁸ Department of Integrative Physiology, Center for Neuroscience, and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Bouldergrid.266190.a, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁹ Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, United Kingdom.
²⁰ Department of Architecture, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
²¹ Program of Environmental Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
²² School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia.
²³ Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁴ St. Andrews Botanic Garden, Canongate, St. Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
²⁵ Bio-integrated Design Lab, Bartlett School of Architecture, London, United Kingdom.
²⁶ School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
²⁷ University of Maine, School of Food and Agriculture, Orono, Maine, USA.

PMID: 35089060
PMCID: PMC8725600
DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01240-21

Review

Twenty Important Research Questions in Microbial Exposure and Social Equity

Jake M Robinson et al. mSystems. 2022.

. 2022 Feb 22;7(1):e0124021.

doi: 10.1128/msystems.01240-21. Epub 2022 Jan 4.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ University of Sheffield, Department of Landscape Architecture, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
² Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of North Dakotagrid.266862.e School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
³ Centric Lab, London, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education, Kremen School of Education and Human Development, California State University, Fresno, California, USA.
⁵ College of Science and Engineering, Flinders Universitygrid.1014.4, Bedford Park, SA, Australia.
⁶ University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
⁷ School of the Environment, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
⁸ University of Arizonagrid.134563.6, School of Anthropology and Center for Regional Food Studies, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
⁹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
¹⁰ University of Oregon, Biology and the Built Environment Center, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
¹¹ American International College of Arts and Sciences of Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies.
¹² Department of Genetics, Cell, and Development, University of Minnesotagrid.17635.36, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
¹³ Department of System & Engineering Management, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
¹⁴ University of Oregon, Institute of Molecular Biology, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Student Development, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁶ University of Colorado Bouldergrid.266190.a, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
¹⁸ Department of Integrative Physiology, Center for Neuroscience, and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Bouldergrid.266190.a, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁹ Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, United Kingdom.
²⁰ Department of Architecture, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
²¹ Program of Environmental Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
²² School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia.
²³ Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁴ St. Andrews Botanic Garden, Canongate, St. Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
²⁵ Bio-integrated Design Lab, Bartlett School of Architecture, London, United Kingdom.
²⁶ School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
²⁷ University of Maine, School of Food and Agriculture, Orono, Maine, USA.

PMID: 35089060
PMCID: PMC8725600
DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01240-21

Abstract

Social and political policy, human activities, and environmental change affect the ways in which microbial communities assemble and interact with people. These factors determine how different social groups are exposed to beneficial and/or harmful microorganisms, meaning microbial exposure has an important socioecological justice context. Therefore, greater consideration of microbial exposure and social equity in research, planning, and policy is imperative. Here, we identify 20 research questions considered fundamentally important to promoting equitable exposure to beneficial microorganisms, along with safeguarding resilient societies and ecosystems. The 20 research questions we identified span seven broad themes, including the following: (i) sociocultural interactions; (ii) Indigenous community health and well-being; (iii) humans, urban ecosystems, and environmental processes; (iv) human psychology and mental health; (v) microbiomes and infectious diseases; (vi) human health and food security; and (vii) microbiome-related planning, policy, and outreach. Our goal was to summarize this growing field and to stimulate impactful research avenues while providing focus for funders and policymakers.

Keywords: biopolitics; health disparities; integrated research; microbiomes; social determinants of health; structural determinants; structural determinants of health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**FIG 1**
A systems-level view of microbiomes, hosts, societies, and ecosystems, and strategies to meld social equity with biology, ecology, politics, or design (made with biorender).

**FIG 2**
Summary of methods and workflow.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Twenty Important Research Questions in Microbial Exposure and Social Equity

Affiliations

Twenty Important Research Questions in Microbial Exposure and Social Equity

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical