What is it about?

Despite efforts by the NIH and others over the past decades some groups of people, including those that are Black, Hispanic/Latino, and indigenous Americans, are deeply under-represented in the biomedical workforce. There is a lot of attention on how academic departments should address this, but academic institutions are made up of many more parts than academic departments. We describe how the institutional committees that regulate research with animals (IACUC) and humans (IRB) can contribute to a deliberately anti-racism agenda to reduce the barriers for minoritized scientists and trainees.

Why is this important?

Structural racism in academia contributes to pushing people of color out of science, limiting their opportunities to pursue meaningful careers, make discoveries, and contribute to society. This is wrong, and we should change how the system works.

Find this editorial at the Journal of Applied Physiology and on Pubmed.