<xhtml:span xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">What Does It Mean to Be a Microbiologist? Reflections on Identity and Belonging Between Disciplines </xhtml:span>
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Microbiology has long encompassed a breadth of scientific questions, methods and applications, from fundamental and environmental research to clinical practice, education, policy, and more. Microbiologists also work across these disciplinary boundaries, applying disciplinary expertise in contexts that do not always align with conventional images of what a microbiologist does. This Perspectives article reflects on what such work can mean for professional identity, drawing on my experience at the intersections of microbiology, medical education, and global health. Working across disciplinary boundaries can be intellectually rich, but can also raise questions about belonging. Scholars in hybrid roles may find themselves engaged across multiple scholarly communities — each with its own journals, conferences, and criteria for what constitutes valuable contribution — without feeling fully embedded in any one of them. For early-career researchers in particular, this partial membership can create uncertainty about how contributions are communicated and evaluated, and how coherent careers are developed across boundaries. This piece considers these experiences through the lens of plural disciplinary identity; microbiological expertise need not diminish when applied in different professional settings, but can be refracted through new contexts and integrated with other disciplinary approaches. Although professional societies, journals and institutions have made important efforts to recognise the breadth of microbiological practice, such disciplinary plurality does not necessarily resolve questions of belonging for individual researchers. Recognising this distinction may help inform how the field evaluates diverse contributions, supports interdisciplinary career development, and understands what it means to be a microbiologist.
