The diversification of the HIV research workforce is essential in order to improve the relevance of HIV research to communities most affected by HIV; facilitate creative, novel, and context-specific approaches to reaching all people at risk for and living with HIV; and ultimately end the HIV epidemic.
Black and Latinx researchers are markedly underrepresented in biomedical research in general, and HIV research in particular. People who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM) face specific barriers to participation in HIV research at all stages of their education and training, from early school-age years through graduate school, fellowship, and faculty positions. These barriers include lack of exposure to research opportunities, unavailable or insufficiently trained mentors, lack of support networks, and unconscious bias.
The HU CFAR’s new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Steering Committee, led by co-directors; Drs. Whitney Irie and Malika Boudries, directly addresses issues of DEI with the aim to increase the number of underrepresented minorities trainees who engage in HIV science and to develop pathways to successful careers in science and medicine. The HU CFAR has a long track record in generating innovative, high impact research and science among early career investigators at Harvard and in low- and middle-income countries, where important research is critical in the fight to end the epidemic, and the Harvard community will now benefit from the intentional necessary work of the HU CFAR DEI Steering Committee.
The Harvard University Center for AIDS Research DEI Steering Committee is tasked with advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through administrative and programmatic initiatives. These initiatives center on the career development of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds and identities in HIV research (URiMs). At the core of our efforts are pathway initiatives, which encompass training, mentorship, networking, and support for URiMs at various stages, from high school to early-career investigators. The HU CFAR DEI Steering Committee is committed to supporting pathway initiatives at Harvard University and across its affiliated hospitals and institutions.
The following brief survey has two goals:
- To help us better understand how our community members self-identify; this information will be utilized to help direct our growth toward increasing diversity as well as learn who may be eligible for specific opportunities and initiatives within the CFAR.
- It serves as an invitation to join the DEI Steering Committee’s efforts to support recruitment, inclusion, and retention of investigators who are underrepresented in medicine as we seek to expand educational and outreach programs for communities affected by the HIV epidemic. Meetings occur monthly and members have the opportunity to develop and participate in multiple areas of interest.
If you are a Harvard affiliated faculty member and interested in joining the HU CFAR DEI Steering Committee, please contact Drs. Whitney Irie or Malika Boudries.
DEI Working Group Participants:
- Allen, Wanda – HU CFAR Community Education and Engagement Programs (CERP) Assoc. Dir.
- Ashaba, Scholastic – Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST)
- Batchelder, Abigail – MGH; Interim HU CERP Director
- Bebell, Lisa – MGH
- Bibangambah, Prossy – Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST)
- Boudries, Malika – BIDMC
- Burchett, Sandra – BCH
- Chai, Peter – BWH
- Chiosi, Jon – MGH
- Chitneni, Pooja – MGH
- Ciaranello, Andrea – MGH
- Das Adhikari, Upasana – Ragon Institute
- Dryden-Peterson, Scott – BWH
- Ellis-Pugh, Jordan Renae – Ragon Institute
- Errea, Renato – Partners in Health
- Fitch, Calvin – MGH
- Gebremichael, Musie – MGH, Ragon Institute
- Glynn, Tiffany – Fenway Health, MGH, HMS
- Guss, Carly – BCH
- Haberer, Jessica – MGH
- Hamad, Leena – HMS
- Irie, Whitney – Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare; Fenway Health; BC
- Koofhethile, Catherine – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Krakower, Douglas – BIDMC, Fenway Health, HMS
- Lefteri, Kristina – Ragon Institute
- Li, Jonathan – BWH
- Li, Peng – BWH
- Lockman, Shahin – BWH, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Marcus, Julia – Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare
- Marroquin, Selvin – Boston Medical Center
- Mitnick, Carole – HMS
- Mohareb, Amir – MGH
- Mukusuma, Kalo – BIDMC
- Nalubwama Mpanga, Justine – Joint Clinical Research Center-Uganda
- O’Cleirigh, Conall – MGH; Fenway Health
- Ogunshola, Funsho – MGH
- Olatotse, Mpho – Ragon Institute
- Oliveira De Souza, Matheus – Ragon Institute
- Roon, Minttu – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Saeed, Abubaker – MGH
- Saleem, Naeem – Brandeis University
- Shrestha, Prerana – BWH
- Siddiqi, Omar – BIDMC
- Singh, Parmit – DFCI
- Stephenson, Kathryn – BIDMC
- Sullivan, Matthew – MGH
- Tripp, Julia – HU CFAR