Last week, NPR published “Academic Science Rethinks All-Too-White ‘Dude Walls’ of Honor” on its website. This article addresses the message that walls of honor that mostly feature white men may send to nonwhite and nonmale trainees. Several academic institutions are dismantling or relocating their “dude walls” to send a more inclusive message, and this has(...)
diversity
Reflections on Pride Month As a Gay Scientist
Posted by | A Day in the LifeMost days, I just think of myself as a scientist. But in honor of Pride Month, I am embracing my identity as not just any scientist but specifically a gay scientist by reflecting on the struggles I’ve faced as a gay student and the challenges LGBTQ+ scientists face today. It’s easy to minimize the difficulties(...)
Underrepresented minority biomedical researchers: numbers, challenges and initiatives for change
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchIn 2012, the Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Diversity (ACDWGD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) produced its first report. The committee stated plainly that diversity increases core scientific principles — creativity, innovation and rigor — and that the NIH had a responsibility as a publicly funded body to maintain the(...)
Discussing the NIH Mandate to Study Sex as a Biological Variable in Basic Biomedical Research
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchIn one of my courses in the neuroscience Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins, we recently discussed the 2016 National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandate requiring consideration of sex as a biological variable in grant applications to NIH agencies. Citing the success of the initiative to include both men and women in human clinical trials, the(...)
Celebrating Diversity at Hopkins
Posted by | Events and HappeningsBy Susana Rodriguez, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Physiology On December 4th, Turner concourse was bustling with eager, young, and talented research trainees arriving with posters in hand, ready to discuss their scientific findings with faculty judges and meeting participants; the 3rd Annual Excellence in Diversity (EiD) Symposium was officially underway at the Johns Hopkins(...)
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine: Diverse Perspectives
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchEqual treatment for all is one of the values on which this institution was founded. In an 1873 letter from Mr. Johns Hopkins to Johns Hopkins Hospital trustees, he wrote that the hospital must care for “the indigent sick of this city and its environs, without regard to sex, age, or color, who may require(...)
Diversity at the Top of the Social Media Signaling Cascade
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchCaroline's essay received 3rd place in The Lasker Foundation Essay Contest. The Lasker Foundation’s Essay Contest engages young scientists and clinicians in a discussion about big questions in biology and medicine and the role of biomedical research in our society today. The Contest aims to build skills in communicating important medical and scientific issues to(...)
A Scientific Approach to Increasing STEM Workforce Diversity
Posted by | Events and HappeningsIn spite of efforts to diversify the biomedical workforce, a significant proportion of the United States population remains grossly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Nationally, women hold less than 25 percent of scientific research faculty positions, while African-Americans and Latinos account for 7.2 percent of academic faculty, surprising statistics given(...)