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The Racism in Science *LINK*

New study identifies stark racial gaps in funding of biomedical research

By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff

Black scientists applying for grants from the nation’s premier underwriter of biomedical research are dramatically less likely to receive funds than their white counterparts, according to a new study revealing stark racial disparities at the highest levels of science.

The study, published today in the journal Science, triggered immediate action to address and understand the root of the problem from top officials at the National Institutes of Health, the funding agency studied. The findings stunned Boston researchers, who said the results have implications that transcend the realms of science and medicine.

“That is incredibly alarming to me,” said Dr. Selwyn O. Rogers, division chief of trauma, burns, and surgical critical care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Black scientists who are competing for grants, he said, have already overcome many hurdles known to contribute to racial disparities in achievement. “Once you’ve broken those barriers, I think most Americans would believe the playing field would be level,” Rogers said. “If this is the elite, and you can find this achievement gap, what is it like for the rest of America?”

The gap between black and white scientists could not be explained by differences in training, the home institution of a researcher, the number of papers a scientist had written, or even their scientific influence, as measured by the number of times their work had been cited by other scientists. The bottom line remained: If 100 white scientists apply for a grant, about 30 would be likely to get one; if 100 black scientists applied, about 20 would be successful, the study found.

No difference was seen between whites and Hispanics in the study, which was led by a University of Kansas economist and the president of Grinnell College in Iowa. Researchers reviewed more than 80,000 grant applications submitted between 2000 and 2006. A small disadvantage in Asians’ success rates seemed to be explained by whether the scientists were US citizens, suggesting language ability might play a role.

“I’m an economist by training, and we believe there should be some rational explanation for why we observe differences in career outcomes -- differences in productivity … differences in educational background,” said Donna Ginther, the University of Kansas economist who led the study. “We kind of struck out.”

While the definitive causes of the funding disparity could not be determined, the study’s authors and other scientists suggested the gap could stem from subtle disadvantages that accrue over a lifetime of scientific training: slight differences in crucial mentoring and training, differences in minorities’ social networks, and unintentional biases. For example, black researchers were less likely to resubmit grants that were initially rejected -- a difference that suggests they might not have the encouragement or support to persist.

No one suggested explicit racism was a factor: The panels that decide who wins federal grants don’t have information about applicants’ race. They do have access to the names and institutions where researchers work, which could allow grant panels to make inferences about race or ethnicity.

“Younger people I’ve mentored have expressed a feeling of being shut out. … These are people who are trying to get started, dig their toes in, and they’re not invited to be on grants or in groups or institutes, or at least not at the same rate,” said Paula Hammond, a chemical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who led a committee that produced a report on faculty diversity. “I think when people of color present work, or present papers, that work will often undergo a scrutiny that is not observed with others.”

The director of the NIH, Dr. Francis S. Collins, promised immediate action. He announced a new early career reviewer program, in which promising junior faculty, especially minorities, would be recruited to review grants. To get to the bottom of the difference, Collins proposed an experiment: One group of grant reviewers would be blinded to the name and institution of applicants while another group would receive that information. The results would then be examined to see if bias exists.

“Is it possible that an insidious form of bias is still present in our peer review system, and if so, what can we do about it?” Collins said in a press conference. “This situation is not acceptable.”

A growing body of literature has shown the ways in which unintentional, or implicit biases, may creep into society. One study showed that unconscious bias among doctors can influence treatment recommendations for patients with identical medical problems, depending on their race.

Dr. Joan Reede, dean for diversity and community partnership at Harvard Medical School, said it would be critical to drill down into the results to understand the root of the disparity. Reede is working on a project that looks in detail at factors such as researchers’ social networks – who their mentors are, who they publish papers with, what kind of institutional support researchers get -- to see if differences emerge between researchers of different race or gender.

The repercussions resound beyond biomedical research. Laurence Tabak, chairman of the NIH diversity task force, said he had already briefed other grant-giving government agencies on the findings.

But others said it was more than a problem of inequality; it affects the kinds of research that gets done.

“There’s a strong message for the rest of society in this -- there’s a lot of people who claim we’re color blind now,” said Scott Page, professor of complex systems at University of Michigan, who studies diversity within organizations. “You’d think science is fairly objective in the criteria they use, and things like race and ethnicity shouldn’ t be coming into play when looking at these grants -- and yet somehow that appears to be happening.”

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The Racism in Science *LINK*
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