July 16, 2025 (Woburn, MA) —Today, the pioneering nonprofit OpenBiome, becomes the OpenBiome Foundation – a bold evolution designed to fuel innovation, and ensure microbiome science delivers real impact for people all over the world. The shift reflects a changing regulatory environment while expanding on early successes and expertise.   

Today, we are proud to share the next chapter of our journey: OpenBiome is becoming the OpenBiome Foundation. With this transition, we renew and refocus our commitment to accelerating microbiome science and ensuring its benefits reach those who need them most. 

What motivated you to study the microbiome in rural Paraguay? 

Only recently were we able to decipher the Paraguayan gut microbiome — and that research was limited to urban populations in the Asunción metro area. Until then, no other work had been done with a Paraguayan population, meaning Paraguay was vastly underrepresented in microbiome studies. Since microbiomes can vary significantly across populations, the next logical step in my goal to put Paraguay on the microbiome map was to begin studying rural communities.