@article{f359a536dbdb480da36e21d7b7c4455d,
title = "The race toward equity: Increasing racial diversity in cancer research and cancer care",
abstract = "Summary: Cancer research and cancer care require deliberate attention to racial diversity. Here we comment on the ongoing issues of diversity and racism in cancer research.",
author = "Brady, {Donita C.} and Weeraratna, {Ashani T.}",
note = "Funding Information: In addition to institutions and cancer centers taking a stand, funding agencies can do the same. Although organizations such as the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the American Cancer Society fund travel fellowships and trainee grants for URM scholars, we need to increase funding avenues for cancer research for URM as well. For example, five years ago The V Foundation established the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund to provide financial support for cancer research conducted by URM faculty as well as research that is dedicated to the aggressiveness, therapeutic responsiveness, and ultimate outcomes for Black and other minority populations patients with cancer. In 2011, a seminal study by Ginther and colleagues indicated that URM scientists receive grant funding at lower rates than their non-URM peers [5]. To address this, the National Institutes of Health instituted a Scientific Workforce Diversity Taskforce in 2014 (https://diversity.nih.gov/building-evidence/racial-disparities-nih-funding). Amazingly, in that short time the gap in grant funding, especially at the R01 equivalent level, decreased significantly, though not totally, and represented an 117% increase in awards granted to Black scientists. Intentional diversity programs such as Build and the National Research Mentoring Network that equipped trainees with grant-writing tools, paired them with mentors with similar life experiences and academic interests, and taught students about implicit biases they may face, have significantly contributed to this success. Other such programs, including the Research Training Opportunities for Outstanding Leaders (ReTOOL) program, have shown similar success. This program was designed to increase the capacity for scientific research in underserved areas and to increase URM representation in biomedical research. Between 2012 and 2019, 40 URM scientists were identified and followed, and ReTOOL drove both the initial interest and ultimate retention of these URMs in science [6]. With these types of initiatives showing success and setting the stage, cancer centers nationwide have strong examples to follow. Indeed, many are rising to the challenge. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 American Association for Cancer Research.",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1193",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "10",
pages = "1451--1454",
journal = "Cancer discovery",
issn = "2159-8274",
publisher = "American Association for Cancer Research Inc.",
number = "10",
}