The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) has been at the vanguard of discipline- focused societies in addressing the underrepresentation of women and other groups who have historically been underrepresented in sciences. Within the ASCB, the Minorities Affairs Committee (MAC) has taken the lead in developing integrated developmentally appropriate training and access to resources for scientists from underrepresented groups. The MAC is a standing committee of ASCB. The MAC has as its goal to significantly increase the involvement of underrepresented minority scientists in all aspects of the Society by promoting the professional development and recruiting of minority scientists. The relatively small size of the pool of minority scientists with an interest in cell biology requires that the MAC also develop programs for undergraduate and graduate students to assist them in achieving careers in biomedical research. The long-range goal of the MAC is to contribute to the Nation?s effort to increase the number of underrepresented minority scientists. The proposed ASCB MAC Research and Educational Career Development Program for Cell Biologists: An Integrated Approach to help broaden participation in basic biomedical research of people who have been and remain underrepresented in the scientific enterprise. It builds on the success of our previous programmatic offerings. ASCB MAC has been recognized for its innovative approaches. ASCB was awarded a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 2004. The ASCB, as an organization, has much to gain by assuring that the next generation of scientists is welcomed into the Society because diversity in the membership will enhance its stability and will provide a venue for the top biomedical scientists to present their science.
A persistent and urgent challenge is the severe underrepresentation of persons from disadvantaged backgrounds in the scientific workforce. To encourage more minority students to persist in science, it is critically important to provide support for and to increase the diversity of the faculty who teach and mentor trainees at all levels in the classrooms and in the research laboratories. The lack of underrepresented minority biomedical investigators is unfortunate because they are more likely than their majority-culture counterparts to focus on diseases and risk factors that disproportionately burden minority populations.
| Segarra, Verónica A; Zavala, MariaElena; Hammonds-Odie, Latanya (2017) Applied Theatre Facilitates Dialogue about Career Challenges for Scientists. J Microbiol Biol Educ 18: |
