Easy ways to incorporate inclusion into a busy academic life

Achieving high-quality medical care, research and innovation to improve lives is only possible by bringing together the talents and energy of the entire community. Health outcomes are better when diverse teams lead health systems. Unfortunately, the world of academic medicine and biomedical research remains either unknown or out of reach for many people. First-generation college graduates and people living in medically underserved areas are among those who may not be aware of opportunities to contribute to scientific and biomedical innovation. Groups underrepresented in medicine (URM) include Black, Latinx and Indigenous people, who together represent a third of the U.S. population but make up only 6.8% of medical school faculty.

Here are some of the simple practices I have adopted to make biomedical research and academic medicine more accessible:

• Ensure representation. I am mindful of the diversity of speakers or participants in any meeting, whether an international meeting, career discussion panel, leadership group or thesis oversight committee. Learners should receive advice from people representing a range of ages, genders, races and ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, disabilities, countries of origin, scientific or medical expertise, professional status, and types of training or education. Not only is advice from a broad range of people more likely to be robust, but it also enables people from all walks of life to see a path forward for themselves.
• Be real. I ask speakers, panelists, leaders, and advisors to share something about themselves, as it is a humanizing experience that breaks down barriers. In the monthly Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine joint lab meeting, we invited speakers to share their science as well as a bit about their personal journey. Audience members inevitably found that they could identify in some ways with the speaker, regardless of perceived external differences.
• Open doors. Every summer, I invite a student from an undergraduate or high school outreach program to work in the lab. Programs such as the BCM Summer Medical and Research Training (SMART) Program, the Saturday Morning Science (SMS) Program or the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) select students with excellent potential and provide a structured setting in which the students, many of whom come from URM backgrounds, can gain an introductory experience in biomedical science. I pay these students a living stipend for the summer. Not only do these students contribute meaningfully to our work, but they often ask the most creative and insightful questions, which bolster the thinking and confidence of more experienced lab members. Summer experiences are a gateway to a future career in biomedical research and a fantastic way to pull back the curtain on what is otherwise out of many people’s scope of experience.
• Give everyone a chance. I use the mindfulness approach of leaning in with curiosity to avoid jumping to conclusions. Working with a variety of trainees in the lab requires flexibility. When people from vastly different backgrounds come together, they can sometimes make statements that appear uninformed or jarring. Try, “Why do you ask that?” or “Can you please lead me through your thinking?” Taking the time to understand the team’s diverse perspectives often leads to rewarding new insights.

Making biomedical sciences and medicine more accessible to people from diverse backgrounds will improve the quality of science, directly benefiting humanity. These simple steps are an easy way to support inclusion.

By Katherine Y. King, professor of pediatrics – infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine She was recently awarded the 2024 Leadership Award in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the International Society for Experimental Hematology.

Acknowledgement: Thanks for Catherine Gillespie for editing this piece, and thanks to my mentors and members of my lab for making my work possible.