# Out of the box: toward new frameworks for understanding human microbiomes

## TL;DR

This paper argues for moving beyond simplistic categories like race to better understand how human microbiomes affect health outcomes.

## Contribution

The paper proposes a new conceptual framework for studying microbiomes that emphasizes transdisciplinary methods and systems thinking.

## Key findings

- Simplified categories like race fail to capture human variation in microbiome studies.
- Adopting a systems lens can connect large-scale social factors to individual health outcomes.
- Transdisciplinary methods can lead to more equitable and actionable health solutions.

## Abstract

The study of the human microbiome (mirroring broader practice across biomedical science) has historically defaulted to the use of simplified, socially constructed "boxes,” such as racial and ethnic labels, that fail to accurately capture human variation and fundamentally misdirect the search for mechanisms to explain differences in health outcomes. Five years ago, I proposed a “frameshift,” a fundamental conceptual shift away from relying on these categories and toward a more nuanced, careful approach to the complexity of human variation. Moving “out of the box” means tackling the difficult but essential work of analyzing microbial variation through a systems lens, connecting large-scale ecosocial drivers to individual mechanisms and outcomes. In this Full Circle review, I discuss rapid progress in the field toward this new framework and argue that by adopting transdisciplinary methods, we can generate more accurate, actionable, and equitable solutions for human health.