Biology DEI Activities and Achievements
Excellence in science is enhanced by a diversity of people, perspectives and backgrounds. We recognize that persistent problems continue to exist within our structures, which have been shaped by historic inequities to marginalized communities. We are actively working to build a more equitable and inclusive community. While more needs to be done, our efforts so far, many ongoing, are summarized below.
Graduate student composition-recruiting and outreach
Our PhD students are currently 19-26% URM, the result of decades-long outreach efforts:
- Recruiting BIPOC students to summer undergraduate research programs
- Operating booths at national SACNAS, NIH ENDURE, SFN and ABRCMS conferences
- Organizing and hosting New England SACNAS meeting since 2016
- Working with the IMSD program at UMass Boston
- Actively reaching out to BIPOC applicants with personalized messages and fee waivers
- Involving BIPOC grad students in admission decisions
Postdoc composition- recruiting and outreach
- Awarded an NIH postdoctoral training grant in Neuroscience that serves as a vehicle to hire BIPOC postdocs.
Faculty composition- recruiting and outreach
- Current composition: 14% BIPOC.
- Advertising open positions widely, including Academic Diversity Search, Inc., Science Careers, Academic Jobs Online, American Society for Cell Biology, ASBMB, and soliciting applications from institutions/laboratories with high proportions of BIPOC trainees.
- Attending Black In Neuro, Black In Microbiology and other BIPOC focused sessions at national meetings.
- Request faculty candidates to describe DEI activities in application.
Curriculum
- Actively working to create syllabi that reflect diverse voices in science and highlight the work of BIPOC researchers, e.g. BIOL23 and BIOL39.
- Individual faculty mentors are actively improving their training approaches and lab environments to work better for diverse trainees, using evidence-based approaches. For example, 9 faculty members participated in the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research Culturally Aware Mentoring workshop.
- Amplifying BIPOC voices by inviting diverse speakers for seminars; student groups, including Diverse Brandeis scholars, invite several prominent scientists from underrepresented groups every year.
Climate
- Supporting student-initiated groups such as the SACNAS chapter, Diverse Brandeis Scholars, Women in Science Initiative, Brandeis Queer Grad Student Union, Career Development for the Sciences, and the Postdoctoral Association.
- Engaged a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students to develop BLM and Value statements.
- Soliciting student opinions through annual faculty meetings with UDRs, grad student and postdoc representatives as well as in townhall meetings with wider community.