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PRIM&R's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ)

Science is essential to the health and well-being of humans, non-human animals, and the environment.

We believe that everyone must have fair and equitable access to the benefits of science. We are mindful of past and continuing inequities in people’s access to participating in and benefiting from science. Working to eliminate systemic injustices in the research endeavor is at the core of our mission to advance ethical research. It is integrated into our operations and our program offerings, which are designed to facilitate an expansive and dynamic understanding and implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice within the broader research community.
We believe that inclusion of a diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences is fundamental to the work of advancing ethical research. Our community is enriched by the differences among our staff, constituents, and partners, and we appreciate the intersectionality of the multiple visible and invisible dimensions of individual identity, which are shaped by lived experience and situational factors.
We are cognizant that diversity, like all social constructs, evolves over time. We will continue to cultivate and sustain an environment of consciousness, inclusivity, accessibility, respect, humility, and openness to change in all that we do.
Below is a collection of resources related to DEIJ that may help stakeholders in their efforts to recognize and begin to address racism and other forms of discrimination; bias; and structural injustice in their research and research oversight programs.

Complimentary Program Recordings

PRIM&R maintains a collection of free-to-all program recordings related to DEIJ as they impact research and research oversight. Log in with your PRIM&R account to access this collection. We encourage you to share these resources with your colleagues.
Access the Collection

Ampersand, PRIM&R’s Blog

Ampersand covers a range of topics relevant to the biomedical, behavioral, and social science research enterprise, including topics related to DEIJ.
View Blog Posts

Articles By Our Community

Does Diversity Matter for Health? Experimental Evidence from Oakland. Marcella Alsan, Owen Garrick (PRIM&R board alumnus), Grant C. GrazianiNews coverage: Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Stanford Health Policy

People and Perspectives

People & Perspectives (P&P) is a digital story-telling library featuring stories of those working in the human subjects and animal care and use enterprise.
  • Warren K. Ashe, PhD, retired associate dean for research at Howard University and former PRIM&R Board member, describes his early childhood growing up in the segregated south. He discusses his time in the military and his journey through undergraduate studies at Howard University, to a job at the NIH where he became the first African-American senior scientific advisor. Dr. Ashe continues his story by describing his time in the administration at Howard University, his quest to earn a PhD and his creation of a functional IRB from scratch. He served as a federal compliance consultant for site visits and shares his philosophy on helping resource-poor institutions. Dr. Ashe comments on his time on the PRIM&R Board and ruminates on life challenges and the frames of mind that continue to guide his decision-making.
  • A. Cornelius Baker, deputy coordinator for Affected Populations and Civil Society Leadership for the US Department of State's Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator, says that “a liberal arts education brings dexterity of mind.” This educational background has been the key to his success as a subject advocate and proponent of community involvement in research
  • Laura Ruse Brosch, RN, MSN, PhD, director of the Office of Research Protections at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, discusses how enlisted subjects are carefully supported to ensure the voluntariness of their participation.
  • Dr. Ruth Fischbach, PhD, MPE, director of Center for Bioethics at Columbia University, describes the many phases of her life and the studies that lead to her present role as professor and director of the Center for Bioethics at Columbia University. She shares her insight into controversial issues of embryonic stem cell research and Asperger/Autism spectrum diagnoses categories.
  • Dr. William Freeman, MD, MPH, CIP, human protections administrator and program director of the Center for Health at Northwest Indian College and former PRIM&R Board member, describes his introduction to Indian Health Services and his long career promoting cultural competence within the world of clinical research design, review and process.
  • Natalie L. Mays, BA, LATG, CPIA, director of the IACUC and IBC at NYU Langone Medical Center and PRIM&R Board member, talks about how her love of science took her into the laboratory. She was introduced to AALAS at Case Western and went on to direct the IACUC and IBC programs at NYULMC.
  • Judy Norsigian, co-founder of Our Bodies, Ourselves, discusses a growing concern that research involving female hormones may be affected by toxins in the environment.
  • Karen Rothenberg, Marjorie Cook Professor of Law & Founding Director of the Law and Health Care Program at the University of Maryland (Carey), discusses the definitions of "community" affected how genetic testing was introduced to Jewish populations.
  • Sandra Whiteshield, IRB member at Regional Health, describes how her mother, as a Native American teenager, was taken out of school for a "shot" and a year later for a "check up". No information was given or permissions received. Forty-five years later her mother wondered if health issues were related to the mysterious injection.

Podcasts

Giselle Corbie-Smith and Margo MichaelsToday’s episode of More Than Meets the IRB includes segments from a panel discussion entitled “Increasing the Public’s Understanding of Clinical Research” and focuses on the question of why minority groups are less likely to participate in research.

Scholarships

A number of small, underfunded institutions of higher education in the United States need, but do not have, fully functioning IRBs or HRPPs. Many of these institutions serve primarily minority populations with educational disparities, such as historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), and tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). Others are health institutions serving minority populations with significant health disparities, such as community clinics, regional or area Indian health boards, and tribal governments. Additionally, many small US colleges, universities, and community organizations are called upon to engage in research with animals but struggle to form and/or support their IACUCs due to funding constraints. Almost all such institutions have significantly fewer resources than their larger peer institutions, which can make keeping up on and implementing best practices a challenge. This scholarship program offers a funded educational opportunity to a limited number of teams of two representatives of such institutions, with the goal of building capacity and fostering change at their home institutions. Scholarships include complimentary registration to the conference and preconference Workshop, hotel accommodations, and travel to/from the conference.
PRIM&R is committed to providing those working in research review and oversight who may not have access to professional development funds the opportunity to attend our conferences. PRIM&R will offer a limited number of General Scholarships to its Annual Conference to assist individuals who would otherwise be unable to attend because of institutional budget constraints. A certain percentage of scholarships will be earmarked for individuals from Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), and who have significantly fewer resources than HRPPs in the United States. Scholarships include complimentary registration to the conference and preconference Workshop.

More Resources

Contact us

Relevant content is periodically added to this page. If you know of a resource we should offer here or have a concrete suggestion for future PRIM&R efforts to advance justice and equity in research and its oversight, please email us your feedback.