Affirming NIH's commitment to addressing structural racism in the biomedical research enterprise

Francis S Collins; Amy Bany Adams; Courtney Aklin; Trevor K Archer; Marie A Bernard; Ericka Boone; John Burklow; Michele K Evans; Sadhana Jackson; Alfred C Johnson; Jon Lorsch; Mia Rochelle Lowden; Anna María Nápoles; Anna E Ordóñez; Robert Rivers; Victoria Rucker; Tara Schwetz; Julia A Segre; Lawrence A Tabak; Monica Webb Hooper; Carrie Wolinetz; NIH UNITE

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.014

Affirming NIH's commitment to addressing structural racism in the biomedical research enterprise

Cell. 2021 Jun 10;184(12):3075-3079. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.014.

Authors

Francis S Collins¹, Amy Bany Adams², Courtney Aklin³, Trevor K Archer⁴, Marie A Bernard⁵, Ericka Boone⁶, John Burklow⁷, Michele K Evans⁸, Sadhana Jackson⁹, Alfred C Johnson¹⁰, Jon Lorsch¹¹, Mia Rochelle Lowden¹², Anna María Nápoles¹³, Anna E Ordóñez¹⁴, Robert Rivers¹⁵, Victoria Rucker¹⁶, Tara Schwetz³, Julia A Segre¹⁷, Lawrence A Tabak³, Monica Webb Hooper¹³, Carrie Wolinetz³; NIH UNITE

Affiliations

¹ Office of the Director (OD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
³ Immediate Office of the Director (IMOD)/OD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁴ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁵ Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity (OSWD)/OD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁶ Office of Extramural Research (OER)/OD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁷ Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL)/OD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁸ National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁹ National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹⁰ Office of Management (OM)/OD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹¹ National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹² Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)/OD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹³ National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹⁴ National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹⁵ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹⁶ Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity (OSWD)/OD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Center for Information Technology (CIT), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹⁷ National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

PMID: 34115967
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.014

Abstract

NIH has acknowledged and committed to ending structural racism. The framework for NIH's approach, summarized here, includes understanding barriers; developing robust health disparities/equity research; improving its internal culture; being transparent and accountable; and changing the extramural ecosystem so that diversity, equity, and inclusion are reflected in funded research and the biomedical workforce.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biomedical Research*
Cultural Diversity
Humans
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)*
Research Support as Topic / economics
Systemic Racism*
United States