A recent report submitted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) calls upon the NIH Director Francis S. Collins to have a “continuous review and take remedial steps against bias.” The report was prepared by a panel chaired by Reed Tuckson, executive vice president and chief of medical affairs at UnitedHealth Group in Minnesota, and John Ruffin, director of NIH’s Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
The panel was convened at the request of Dr. Collins after economist Donna Ginther of the University of Kansas and colleagues issued a study that showed that black applicants for NIH grants between 2000 and 2006 were significantly less likely to be funded than white applicants. The working group noted that 73 percent of the applications from black researchers were rejected without a full discussion, but the report does not cite a definitive cause for this discrepancy. The panel also recommended that NIH establish mentorship networks to assist minority students early in their school careers and help fund more undergraduate scholarships. The NIH Director indicated that he is committed to doing everything he can to reduce such disparities.