December 01, 2011
After discovering racial disparities among scientists
awarded government funding, the National Institutes for Health
(NIH) invited a St. John’s University psychology
professor to join the distinguished researchers proposing ways to
improve the representation of minority researchers who ultimately
receive grants.
Scyatta Wallace, Ph.D., Associate
Professor of
Psychology, made her presentation at an advisory meeting held
by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the NIH. The
meeting took place over two days, November 7 and 8, in Bethesda,
MD.
“The NIH is dedicated to eliminating disparities in health and
human services,” said Dr. Wallace. “So the agency was dismayed to
see these disparities among the researchers who are actually
investigating these issues. The NIH wants to decrease those
disparities as well.”
The racial imbalance was revealed in an August 19 article
published in Science
magazine. The study — “Race, Ethnicity and NIH Research Awards,” by
Donna
Ginther, et al.— was commissioned by the NIH
itself.
Correcting an Imbalance
According to the study, university-affiliated Ph.D. scientists from
minority backgrounds who applied for NIH grants between 2002 and
2006 were far less likely to receive awards than their white
counterparts. Applications by African-American scientists were
rejected more often than any other group.
Since 2008, Dr. Wallace has served on a variety of NIH
committees that review grant applications. She was chosen to serve
because she received grants herself. “It’s important for applicants
to know how the process for awarding grants actually works,” said
Dr. Wallace.
“For one thing,” she continued, “I suggested that we have NIH
representatives go to the universities, to educate researchers, and
students who may become researchers, about the process.”
Another suggestion Dr. Wallace made involves educating the
scholars who review grant applications. This is especially true in
terms of scholars who are unfamiliar with the value of
teaching-intensive universities and their mission.
“At times there is a bias in favor of grant applications from
scholars affiliated with research-one universities,” said Dr.
Wallace. Yet many underrepresented scholars are drawn to
teaching-intensive institutions. “Those are the colleges and
universities that tend to focus on the needs of minorities,
immigrants, first-generation students. And those are the very
communities that are most challenged in terms of health
services.”
Focusing on Those in Need
Dr. Wallace has dedicated much of her personal research to
understanding the health challenges facing diverse communities. She
has studied the way neighborhood and socio-cultural norms affect
HIV risk among young, urban African-Americans. Her work also
explores the use of culturally tailored interventions to promote
health among young African Americans.
In addition, the media often seek Dr. Wallace’s comments on the
relationship between racial stereotypes and self-image. For
example, she is quoted in a December 2011 Essence article
on the difficulties dark- and light-skinned African-American women
face within their communities as well as white society.
Dr. Wallace is optimistic about the NIH effort to improve
minority representation among grant recipients. An NIH report will
be developed based on the presentations and feedback provided by
Dr. Wallace and other scientists at the meeting. The report
will provide recommendations to inform NIH policy. At a time when
minority communities urgently need improved health services, said
Dr. Wallace, closing the racial gap in awarding grants may
help.
“If we want to address health care in particular community,” she
noted, “we need to know the cultural reasons why people may not be
inclined, say, to go to the doctor. I can make a very good case for
awarding grants to researchers who would ask those questions.”