Track: Special Session
Michael Friedman
St. John, Antigua and Barbuda
Brianne Palmer
Plant Science, University of California, Davis
San Diego, California, United States
Microbiomes are increasingly seen as critical physiological, developmental and ecological mediators within and among organisms, and between the latter and our abiotic environments. Therefore, it is no surprise that microbial communities may be altered, depleted or disrupted by social and economic determinants. Factors accruing to socioeconomic inequality produce specific alterations and differentiation of microbial communities -- by way of such factors as nutritional access, environmental pollutants or green space availability -- often to the detriment of human and ecosystem health. This special session will be organized as a panel discussion with break-out groups in order to provide participants the opportunity to discuss the ways in which social inequity interacts with microbiomes, and how we might intervene as scientists and communities to protect and restore favorable microbiomes while advancing social equality. We hope to generate research questions and actionable policy items. This session is cosponsored by the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group and the Microbial Ecology Section of ESA.
Presenting Author: Justin Stewart – Biological Sciences, Villanova University
Presenting Author: Naupaka Zimmerman – Biology, University of San Francisco
Presenting Author: Ariangela Kozik – Black Microbiologists Association
Presenting Author: Suzanne L. Ishaq – Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University
Presenting Author: Monica Trujillo – Queens County Community College