Advancing Social Equity through Microbiology

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Background

Cellular and host microbiology has historically focused on the studies of European and North American scientists to the exclusion of others. Similarly, research and academic institutions were built to reward such scientists and their chosen fields of research. The result is a relatively narrow scope of research that has restricted studies into several microbiological aspects that may improve social equity. For example, investigating the pathogens of fish or crops that are important to indigenous communities or research into fungi or parasites that primarily affect low-income communities. Recently, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts have increased the academic awareness of the necessity for a diverse array of perspectives. Accordingly, efforts are underway to increase the diversity of scientists in microbiology and other fields.

However, the academic literature must reflect, and validate, these new avenues and perspectives in research journals. First in scope, then in print. Furthermore, many of these new perspectives describe important aspects of academic inquiry that must be incorporated into all future research. For instance, academics from historically marginalized groups have noted that a single group (cis, hetero, white, healthy, with access to health care) is the unspoken standard for most research. This becomes most evident in the discussion of such studies where the outcomes of other groups are described as aberrations, at best, or diseased, at worst. This approach furthers the social construct of biological superiority/inferiority. For instance, essential adjustments to human microbiome studies must be made to better interrogate study participants and their environmental context. An accounting of race (social) and ancestry (genetic) as well as an understanding of social equity (or the lack there of) is necessary to accurately understand the microbiome. The goal of this special issue, therefore, is to explicitly expand the scope of Frontiers and as a result highlight historically marginalized voices in cellular and infection microbiology.

This research topic will cover cellular and infection microbiology with regards to social equity in the form of Original Research articles, Review articles/Mini-review as well as other accepted article types that include, but are not limited to, the following sub-themes:

• Proposed research-design frameworks that can further social equity if adopted.

• Overlooked contributions of historically marginalized voices.

• Microbes/model systems important to underserved/marginalized communities.

• Infectious diseases that disproportionally affect underserved/marginalized communities.

• Aspects of the innate immune response unique to historically marginalized ethnicities.

• Diagnostic and therapeutic shortcomings unique to underserved/marginalized communities.

• Microbial exposure unique to underserved/marginalized communities.

Keywords: innate immunity; social equity; research frameworks; clinical microbiology;

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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