The Diversity Program Consortium’s is a trans-NIH program that aims to engage a more diverse field of individuals in biomedical research careers. The impetus for this initiative traces back to a 2011 NIH-commissioned study that identified gaps in NIH funding success rates for Black researchers specifically.1 The study found that Black Ph.D. scientists’ chance of being awarded NIH funding was 10 percentage points lower than of White scientists—even after accounting for the applicant’s educational background, country of origin, training, previous research awards, publication record, and employer characteristics. Another study followed in 2019 finding topic choice—a previously unstudied aspect of the review process—as a key contributor for this funding disparity.2 Black scientists tended to propose research at the community and population level, exploring topics such as health disparities. These topic areas received poorer scores from application reviewers, whereas more fundamental and mechanistic investigations received higher award rates. After controlling for the applicant's prior achievements and multiple other variables, the study found that topic choice alone accounts for over 20 percent of the gap in award funding.
Within our work to support diversity in biomedical research, it is important to remember that the 2011 study centered Blackness. By elevating Black students, faculty, and institutions, we elevate all students, faculty, and institutions. As officials from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences stated in a recent NIGMS Feedback Loop blog post:3
“Our commitment to a diverse workforce can’t be realized until our Black students, postdocs, and colleagues have the same opportunities to enter and advance within the biomedical research community as anyone else.”
Efforts to increase equity and diversity in biomedical science must be informed by anti-racism. Anti-racism recognizes that racism is systemic/institutional, interpersonal and internalized,4 and that combatting racism involves functions such as reducing the incidence of racist practices, fostering a non-racist culture, supporting the victims of racism, empowering racialized subjects, transforming racist relations into better relations, and fostering an a-racist culture.5
The following are anti-racist resources compiled for the DPC community and others who work towards inclusive excellence in the biomedical sciences. This page will be maintained and updated by the Coordination & Evaluation Center. Suggestions are welcome, please email info@diversityprogramconsortium.org.
Sources:
1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3412416/
2 https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/10/eaaw7238
3 https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/2020/06/what-can-we-do-to-combat-anti-black-racism-in-the-biomedical-research-enterprise/
4 Berman, G., & Paradies, Y. (2010). Racism, disadvantage and multiculturalism: Towards effective anti-racist praxis. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(2), 214-232. doi:10.1080/01419870802302272
5 Hage, G. (2016). Recalling anti-racism. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(1), 123-133. doi:10.1080/01419870.2016.1096412
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The CEC hosted an informative and timely webinar in lieu of the in-person Annual Grantees Conference cancelled due to COVID-19. The webinar was led by Dr. J. Luke Wood and Dr. Frank Harris III, nationally-renown experts in racial (in)equity and anti-racist strategies in education, who are the founders of the Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement. Their talk provided an overview of pressures facing underserved students and equity-minded practices for teaching students in a virtual setting. The webinar recording is available to DPC community members via the DPC Intranet. For more information, please contact info@diversityprogramconsortium.org.
J. Luke Wood, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Professor of Education and the Vice President of Student Affairs and Campus Diversity at San Diego State University. Dr. Wood is also the Co-Director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) a national research and practice center that has data collection and training partnerships with over 150 schools, colleges, and universities across the nation. Wood’s research focuses on factors affecting the success of boys and men of color education and has authored over 140 publications, including nearly 70 peer-reviewed journal articles. His forthcoming book, Black Minds Matter: Black Minds Pedagogy as a Tool for Civil Resistance, will be released this fall. During the Obama administration, his research was featured through the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.
Dr. Wood is a former recipient of the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from which he served as research fellow at the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research (SIHER) at Stanford University. Wood received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies with an emphasis in Higher Education and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood Education from Arizona State University (ASU). He also holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership in Student Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in Black History and Politics from California State University, Sacramento (CSUS).
Frank Harris III, Ed.D. is a Professor of Postsecondary Education and Co-Director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) at San Diego State University. He is best known for his expertise in racial [in]equity in postsecondary education and has made important contributions to knowledge about college student development and the social construction of gender and race in college contexts. His work prioritizes populations that have been historically underrepresented and underserved in education and has been published in leading journals for higher education and student affairs research and practice. He has delivered more than 1,000 academic and professional presentations throughout his career. Before joining the faculty at San Diego State, Harris worked as a student affairs educator and college administrator in the areas of student affairs administration, student crisis support and advocacy, new student orientation programs, multicultural student affairs, academic advising, and enrollment services.
Dr. Harris earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies at Loyola Marymount University, a master’s degree in speech communication at California State University Northridge, and a doctorate in higher education from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.
Woke STEM: A creative response to the lack of diversity, social equity and inclusive cultures
Asian American Psychological Association COVID-19 Statement
Surviving & Resisting Hate: A Toolkit for People of Color
Support for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Underrepresented Minorities in Science : A Black Scientist Shares His Keys to Success
More resources can be found at our Student Resources Page
National Museum of African American History and Culture – Talking About Race resource page
Particles for Justice – Resources
#ShutDownSTEM Resources by Stage
Test Yourself for Hidden Bias—Implicit Association Test
The BIPOC Project: A Black, Indigenous, & People of Color Movement
Anti-racism Digital Library and Thesaurus
Simmons University Library: Anti-Racism
Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre
Phoenix Public Library Anti-Racism Resources
Do The Work: An Anti-Racist Reading List
‘1619’ Podcast by The New York Times
Racism and Psychological and Emotional Injury: Recognizing and Assessing Race-Based Traumatic Stress
Surviving and Resisting Hate – A Toolkit for People of Color
FamilyCare, CommunityCare and SelfCare Tool Kit: Healing in the Face of Cultural Trauma
Therapy for Black Girls Podcast
#ShutDownSTEM Resources for Healing
Mindfulness for the People: Radically Re-Imagining the Mindfulness Movement
Black Lives Matter Meditation for Healing Racial Trauma
The Trevor Project: Supporting Black LGBTQ Youth Mental Health
Community Healing Network: Family-Care, Community-Care and Self-Care Toolkit
UCLA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Resources for Racial Trauma
Academics for Black Survival and Wellness
NIGMS Feedback Loop Blog post: What Can We Do to Combat Anti-Black Racism in the Biomedical Research Enterprise?
Building Evidence: Racial Disparities in NIH Funding
The Carter Lab at NIH: A Model of Inclusive Excellence in Biomedical Research
The Atlantic: The Disciplines Where No Black People Earn Ph.D.s
The Time is Now: Systemic Changes to Increase African Americans with Bachelor’s Degrees in Physics and Astronomy (American Institute of Physics)
Research: Decoupling of the minority PhD talent pool and assistant professor hiring in medical school basic science departments in the US
Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders
Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth
Impostor Phenomenon and Mental Health: The Influence of Racial Discrimination and Gender
Language Matters: Considering Microaggressions in Science
The Influence of Affirming Kindness and Community on Broadening Participation in STEM Career Pathways
Historically White Universities and Plantation Politics: Anti-Blackness and Higher Education in the Black Lives Matter Era
The Diversity-Innovation Paradox in Science
To Be Young, A Doctor And Black: Overcoming Racial Barriers In Medical Training
Racism and Psychological and Emotional Injury: Recognizing and Assessing Race-Based Traumatic Stress Wellness
Racial Equity in Online Environments Webinar Series—USC Center for Urban Education
Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversation about Race and Racism
Affirming Black Lives Without Inducing Trauma
Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement (CORA) – Learn to Teach People of Color
CORA Webinar: Employing Equity-Minded & Culturally-Affirming Teaching Practices in Virtual Learning Communities
YouTube: Culturally Aware Mentorship with Dr. Sherilynn Black and Dr. Angela Byars-Winston
The Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM
DPC Webinar Recording: The Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM– Highlights from recent National Academies Press Report
Institutional Barriers, Strategies, and Benefits to Increasing the Representation of Women and Men of Color in the Professoriate
NIGMS Training – Programs by Academic Stage
NIGMS Diversity Supplement Program
Undoing Racism: The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
African American Policy Forum
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