NIH Head Apologizes for Structural Racism in Biomedical Research

National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins apologized for structural racism that has sidelined Black and other disadvantaged scientists in biomedical research and vowed to make changes.

“NIH has long supported such programs to improve the diversity of the workforce with a goal of harnessing the complete intellectual capital of the nation. But I want to say to you, quite frankly, those efforts have not been sufficient,” Collins said Friday during an advisory panel meeting. “To those individuals in the biomedical research enterprise who have endured disadvantages due to structural racism, I am truly sorry.”

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