American Gut – What we can learn about successful citizen science from microbiome research

Citizen science typically refers to research collaborations between scientists and volunteers, particularly (but not exclusively) to expand opportunities for scientific data collection and to provide access to scientific information for community members. Dr. Knight will discuss the American Gut Project that was launched in November 2012 to discover the kinds of microbes and microbiomes “in the wild” via a self-selected citizen-scientist cohort. The result is a database that characterizes the diversity of the industrialized human gut microbiome on an unprecedented scale; reveals novel relationships with health, lifestyle, and dietary factors; and establishes a living platform for research discovery.