The National Institutes of Health awarded $1.275 million to University professors to conduct a study about the underrepresentation of minorities in biomedical research.\nAbout one-third of the United States' total population is comprised of minorities, whereas only 7 percent of biomedical researchers have such backgrounds, said Assoc. Education Prof. Robert Tai, one of the principal researchers for the study.
As a result, there is concern that certain diseases - that affect only particular populations - do not receive their due attention. It is possible that in certain cases, "there is no one who would have the background that is associated with a given disease, and because of that, that disease doesn't get looked at," Tai said.
The study, which will include work from professors at the Washington University of St. Louis School of Medicine, will focus mainly on black and Hispanic students. Researchers will monitor students who intend to go to medical school and follow those who actually enter, said Asst. Education Prof. Heather Wathington, the other principal investigator. Of the students who actually enter medical school, the study will explore the career decisions these students make as they transition or do not transition into biomedical research.
The aim is to "try to understand what happens in the biomedical research field that either socializes people into conducting research or socializes them out," Wathington said said.
The research will explore gender issues, as well, as women researchers often have to choose between raising a family and pursuing a full-time career, Tai said.
"We are interested in what affects our female researchers so that we could keep them in the research core," he said.
Researchers hope to complete the project, as well as improve and broaden research efforts in biomedicine, by 2014.
"We are hoping that we can influence practice by learning about their experiences and offering some recommendations or alternatives for how students could be best-served in those environments," Wathington said.
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