Embracing diversity and inclusivity in an academic setting: Insights from the Organization for Human Brain Mapping
Athina Tzovara,
Ishmael Amarreh,
Valentina Borghesani,
M. Mallar Chakravarty,
Elizabeth DuPre,
Christian Grefkes,
Amelie Haugg,
Lee Jollans,
Hyang Woon Lee,
Sharlene D. Newman,
Rosanna K. Olsen,
J. Tilak Ratnanather,
Gina Rippon,
Lucina Q. Uddin,
Maria L. Bringas Vega,
Michele Veldsman,
Tonya White,
AmanPreet Badhwar
Affiliations
Athina Tzovara
Institute for Computer Science, University of Bern, Neubrückstrasse 10, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, USA; Sleep Wake Epilepsy Center | NeuroTec, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland; Corresponding authors.
Ishmael Amarreh
The National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, USA
Valentina Borghesani
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco
M. Mallar Chakravarty
Computational Brain Anatomy (CoBrA) Laboratory, Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Research Centre; Departments of Psychiatry and Biological and Biomedical Engineering at McGill University
University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Germany; Institute of Medicine and Neuroscience, Cognitive Neurology (INM-3), Juelich Research Center, Germany
Amelie Haugg
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Lee Jollans
Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry; Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry; Munich, Germany
Hyang Woon Lee
Departments of Neurology, Medical Science, Computational Medicine and System Health & Engineering Major, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine and Ewha Medical Research Institute, Seoul, South Korea
Sharlene D. Newman
Alabama Life Research Institute, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
Rosanna K. Olsen
Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
J. Tilak Ratnanather
Center for Imaging Science and Institute for Computational Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Gina Rippon
Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Lucina Q. Uddin
Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
Maria L. Bringas Vega
University of Electronic Sciences and Technology of China, Chengdu China; Cuban Neuroscience Center, La Habana, Cuba
Michele Veldsman
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Tonya White
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam
AmanPreet Badhwar
Multiomics Investigation of Neurodegenerative Diseases (MIND) Lab, Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3W 1W5, Canada; Université de Montréal, Département de pharmacologie et physiologie, Montreal, Canada; Corresponding authors.
Scientific research aims to bring forward innovative ideas and constantly challenges existing knowledge structures and stereotypes. However, women, ethnic and cultural minorities, as well as individuals with disabilities, are systematically discriminated against or even excluded from promotions, publications, and general visibility. A more diverse workforce is more productive, and thus discrimination has a negative impact on science and the wider society, as well as on the education, careers, and well-being of individuals who are discriminated against. Moreover, the lack of diversity at scientific gatherings can lead to micro-aggressions or harassment, making such meetings unpleasant, or even unsafe environments for early career and underrepresented scientists.At the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), we recognized the need for promoting underrepresented scientists and creating diverse role models in the field of neuroimaging. To foster this, the OHBM has created a Diversity and Inclusivity Committee (DIC). In this article, we review the composition and activities of the DIC that have promoted diversity within OHBM, in order to inspire other organizations to implement similar initiatives.Activities of the committee over the past four years have included (a) creating a code of conduct, (b) providing diversity and inclusivity education for OHBM members, (c) organizing interviews and symposia on diversity issues, and (d) organizing family-friendly activities and providing childcare grants during the OHBM annual meetings.We strongly believe that these activities have brought positive change within the wider OHBM community, improving inclusivity and fostering diversity while promoting rigorous, ground-breaking science. These positive changes could not have been so rapidly implemented without the enthusiastic support from the leadership, including OHBM Council and Program Committee, and the OHBM Special Interest Groups (SIGs), namely the Open Science, Student and Postdoc, and Brain-Art SIGs. Nevertheless, there remains ample room for improvement, in all areas, and even more so in the area of targeted attempts to increase inclusivity for women, individuals with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals of lower socioeconomic status or from low and middle-income countries.Here, we present an overview of the DIC's composition, its activities, future directions and challenges. Our goal is to share our experiences with a wider audience to provide information to other organizations and institutions wishing to implement similar comprehensive diversity initiatives. We propose that scientific organizations can push the boundaries of scientific progress only by moving beyond existing power structures and by integrating principles of equity and inclusivity in their core values.
