Only 1% of the environmental bacteria can be cultured. These bacteria are what microbiologists have studied in detail. There has been a historically tendency to teach students about the contributions to microbiology from scientists depicted in textbooks . Just as cultured bacteria are neglected in research, the contributions of marginalized communities in STEM, including women, people of color, researchers from developing countries, and LGBTQIA+ have been undervalued or overlooked by the scientific community. We will provide strategies and an evidence-based approach based on data from our in-person and online courses to facilitate inclusion of the invisible voices of in the classroom.
