NIAAA Inspires Diversity in the Next Generation of Researchers
Luis Natividad, Ph.D., receives his doctoral hood from mentors Laura O’Dell, Ph.D., associate professor, and Edward Castañeda, Ph.D., chair, both alcohol researchers in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas–El Paso. Dr. Natividad, whose research focuses on the neural mechanisms of alcohol addiction, is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Research Institute in California and a participant in NIAAA’s Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
The lack of diversity in the biomedical research workforce community is a longstanding issue. Most recently, an August 2011 report in Science found that African-American researchers are 13.2 percentage points less likely than similarly credentialed White researchers to successfully compete for NIH research funding awards. While NIH is in the process of developing programs to address this larger issue, NIAAA currently supports programs that encourage racial and ethnic minority investigators to pursue scientific research, especially in health disparities.
NIAAA supports a range of programs that help minority researchers at all stages of their careers. These include programs that inspire high school students to choose biomedical sciences as a career path and that encourage senior faculty to mentor the next generation of researchers. For example, the Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research is a grant that allows scientists from high school to senior-level faculty to experience what it is like to pursue research in NIAAA-funded laboratories. Through NIH, NIAAA also offers predoctoral fellowship awards to support students from underrepresented groups who are pursuing health-related graduate degrees.
Recruiting and nurturing the careers of diverse researchers is more than just “the right thing to do,” according to Lynn Morin, public health analyst in NIAAA’s Health Disparities Research Program. Greater diversity enhances NIH’s level of cultural competency by recognizing that various ethnic groups may approach health and wellness differently. It also helps NIH address issues relating to minority health, since evidence shows that racial and ethnic minority investigators often study health equity in diverse populations.
Morin and Judith Arroyo, Ph.D., NIAAA’s Minority Health and Health Disparities Initiatives coordinator, also travel to meetings around the country to help mentor minority investigators, guiding them to learn about and take advantage of opportunities like these. They help applicants network among NIH investigators and extramural scientists with similar research interests, and then offer guidance on maintaining and nurturing relationships with senior faculty. As Morin noted, “My colleagues throughout NIH are always passionate about helping enthusiastic young investigators throughout all stages of their careers.”
NIH is beginning to collect data to show the fruits of this labor. For its part, NIAAA keeps in contact with the students it helps, and the Institute tracks their career paths. The goal is for these students to build careers in biomedical research and earn their own NIH R01 awards. “We look forward to watching these investigators develop and produce knowledge that will enhance biomedical research and improve health outcomes for all Americans,” said Morin.
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