For centuries in the western world, the study of science has been dominated by a specific demographic – those with economic and cultural advantages necessary to advance in academics and research careers. Likely white, likely male.
In 2018, a National Institutes of Health study found that, over the previous seven years, only 1% of NIH grants for experienced investigators went to underrepresented minorities. The percentages for early stage and new investigator funding were only slightly higher.
Diversifying research is crucial, not only for the benefit of the young scholars entering various fields, but for the disciplines themselves, says Dr. Lee Phillips, director of UNC Greensboro’s Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Office.
“A diverse set of researchers can more effectively identify and address problems, particularly in a country like America where our professional workforce doesn’t reflect our diverse demographics.”
But to shake up the scientific workforce, Phillips and his colleagues say, you have to start at the beginning.
Most students enter college unprepared for research careers. They don’t know how to ask questions, conduct projects, or present their results.
What takes undergraduates to the next level? What gets them to the point where they may consider graduate school and a scientific career?
Phillips says mentorship from a faculty member is proven to help students succeed in college and then advance to graduate school. Students also thrive with exposure to the professional research world.
But a student needs economic freedom to spend time doing that. They need peers, mentors, or educational experiences to introduce the idea of conducting research – both the reasons and the processes. Much of this depends on socioeconomic circumstances. And that undeniably keeps students and universities, as well as fields of study and industry, locked within systematic racism.
Two years ago, nanoscience professor Dan Herr, Phillips, and their colleagues won NIH funding to launch a MARC U-STAR program. Through the two-year program, promising underrepresented students receive financial support, targeted mentoring, hands-on experience, and exposure to the professional world of research.
The program has opened up new possibilities for the recruitment of students of color and women, giving new structure to the pipeline.