Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI)
I am committed to taking the following actions to promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within my lab, community, and the field of neuroscience:
- Honor the unique identities and basic human rights of all individuals regardless of background
- Work to become aware of and transform my own areas of bias, privilege, and ignorance
- Listen to and learn from the lived experience of individuals with backgrounds different from my own
- Foster an inclusive lab environment through appropriate confrontation of words or actions that discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability
- Support individuals from historically excluded backgrounds who want to pursue neuroscience research, through programs like the Minnesota Inclusive Neuroscience Development Scholars (MINDS) post-baccalaureate training initiative that I co-direct with Dr. Julia Lemos
- Contribute to the evolution of graduate education through service on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, which I currently co-chair with Dr. Martha Streng
- Facilitate monthly lab discussions of issues related to discrimination in neuroscience, including systems that contribute to and perpetuate inequality
Below are readings we have discussed as a lab, as well as other resources:
JR Posselt. Equity in Science: Representation, Culture, and the Dynamics of Change in Graduate Education. Stanford University Press, 2020. *Note that an electronic version of this book is available for free to campus affiliates from the University of Minnesota Library.
DK Ginther, WT Schaffer, J Schnell, B Masimore, F Liu, LL Haak & R Kington (2011). Race, ethnicity, and NIH research awards. Science 333, 1015-1019.
KD Gibbs Jr, J Basson, IM Xierali & DA Broniatowski (2016). Decoupling of the minority PhD talent pool and assistant professor hiring in medical school basic science departments in the US. eLife 5:e21393.
TA Hoppe, A Litovitz, KA Willis, RA Meseroll, MJ Perkins, BI Hutchins, AF Davis, MS Lauer, HA Valantine, JM Anderson & GM Santangelo (2019). Topic choice contributes to the lower rate of NIH awards to African-American/black scientists. Science Advances 5(10):eaaw7238.
B Hofstra, VV Kulkarni, S Munoz-Najar Galvez, B He, D Jurafsky & DA McFarland (2020). The Diversity–Innovation Paradox in Science. PNAS 117, 9284-9291.
An Open Letter: Scientists and Racial Justice. The Scientist Magazine: June 19, 2020.
M Jones-London (2020). NINDS Strategies for Enhancing the Diversity of Neuroscience Researchers. Neuron 107, 212-214.
MA Taffe & NW Gilpin (2021). Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Racial inequity in grant funding from the US National Institutes of Health. eLife 10:e65697.
Black In Neuro, #BlackInNeuroWeek, and #BiNConference2020 (YouTube channel)
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Virtual Workshop Series on Neuroscience Training: Developing a Nimble and Versatile Workforce (videos available).
- Racial Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Neuroscience Training
- Neuroscience Training in Challenging Times
- Fostering Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity in Neuroscience Training
- Re-envisioning Postdoctoral Training in Neuroscience
- Evolving the Culture of Science and Training in Neuroscience to Meet a Changing World
UMN Office of Biomedical Graduate Research, Education & Training (BGREAT) Conversation Speaker Series
Society for Neuroscience Black Lives Matter and Neuroscience: Why This Moment Matters
Society for Neuroscience Cultivating Inclusivity: Leading Your Training Environment