Grant: Project Grant

The human microbiome is essential for healthy human development and immunity. In Canada and worldwide, there is increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses attributed to dysbiosis of human microbiomes. The causes for microbiome dysbiosis vary. In part, the constitution of the human microbiome depends on genetics and personal lifestyle choices, such as diet and exercise. To a large extent, however, individuals' and collective microbiomes are shaped by environmental factors including natural environments, built environments, food systems, air and other pollutants, and the microbiomes of other people and animals around us. Microbes, by their nature, are shared across humans, and between humans and the environments in which we live. Although our decisions as individuals may have some impact, it is mainly our actions as a society that shape macro-social influences such as environmental pollution, industrial food production, and guidelines for anti-biotic use, all of which profoundly affect human microbiomes. This suggests that we need a collective vision and principles to coordinate and guide societal efforts to ensure healthy microbiome environments. The concept of microbiome stewardship recognises our shared microbial environment as a common good that needs to be protected. Recent advances in understanding of environmental influences on human microbiomes now need to be utilised to develop the concept of microbiome stewardship in more detail so that it can be used to guide policy and practice. The purpose of this project is to develop a framework for microbiome stewardship, to develop guiding principles for its implementation, and to develop metrics for its assessment. We will use a series of interviews, workshops, and case studies to engage a wide range of experts and stakeholders to develop a sustainable, comprehensive, and contextual articulation of microbiome stewardship.