PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Julia Manasson AU - Rebecca B Blank AU - Jose U Scher TI - The microbiome in rheumatology: Where are we and where should we go? AID - 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-216631 DP - 2020 Jun 01 TA - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases PG - 727--733 VI - 79 IP - 6 4099 - http://ard.bmj.com/content/79/6/727.short 4100 - http://ard.bmj.com/content/79/6/727.full SO - Ann Rheum Dis2020 Jun 01; 79 AB - From birth, humans coexist and coevolve with trillions of micro-organisms inhabiting most body surfaces and cavities, referred to as the human microbiome. Advances in sequencing technologies and computational methods have propelled the exploration of the microbiome’s contribution to human health and disease, spearheaded by massive efforts such as the Human Microbiome Project and the Europe-based MetaHit Consortium. Yet, despite the accumulated body of literature and a growing awareness among patients, microbiome research in rheumatology has not had a key impact on clinical practice. Herein, we describe some of the landmark microbiome studies in autoimmunity and rheumatology, the challenges and opportunities of microbiome research and how to navigate them, advances in related fields that have overcome these pitfalls, and future directions of harnessing the microbiome for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.