The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
4 — Wednesday, February 10, 2021 

Study shows Black researchers about 55% less 
likely to receive NIH funding than white peers

RESEARCH

University 
of 
Michigan 

biomedical 
engineering 

professor 
Omolola 
Eniola-

Adefeso, 
along 
with 
19 

other women in biomedical 
engineering across the country, 
published a paper last month 
calling for an end to racial 
disparity in funding by the 
National Institute of Health.

According to the paper, the 

probability of Black principal 
investigators 
receiving 
a 

research 
award 
was 
about 

55% 
of 
the 
probability 
of 

white principal investigators 
receiving one in 2000-2006. 
In 
2014-2016, 
this 
number 

remained the same.

“We, 
as 
scientists 
and 

engineers, 
wrote 
editorials 

and promised to do better,” the 
paper reads. “Yet, over a decade 

later, this gap persists.”

According to Eniola-Adefeso, 

equitable research grants from 
the NIH are necessary for 
ensuring diversity in biomedical 
engineering 
research 
and 

enabling 
researchers 
to 

acquire 
promotions 
and 

tenured positions. She told The 
Michigan Daily funding diverse 
research 
teams 
motivates 

students from all backgrounds 
to pursue research.

“We 
recognize 
that 
part 

of the problem is that (NIH 
funded 
researchers), 
as 
a 

body, are not diverse,” Eniola-
Adefeso said. “We are primarily 
responsible for training the U.S. 
workforce, and if we are not 
training a diverse workforce, 
we are leaving people out from 
accessing high-paying jobs.”

The 
paper 
highlighted 

several ways funding agencies 
could work towards eliminating 
disparities in grants awarded. 

These 
include 
officially 

acknowledging the prevalence 
of racism in academia and 
committing to work towards its 
expulsion, instituting policies 
that 
will 
enable 
equitable 

funding for Black researchers 
and 
prioritizing 
diverse 

research teams for funding. 

Numerous studies cited in 

the paper show diverse research 
teams 
generate 
the 
most 

creative and impactful ideas 
and solutions. Eniola-Adefeso 
said the NIH should create a 
diversity score that measures 
the 
diversity 
of 
research 

teams and enables teams with 
higher scores to be prioritized 
for 
funding, 
encouraging 

diversification and innovation.

“Diversity of people, diversity 

of 
background, 
diversity 
of 

life experiences — if those are 
important in getting innovative 
solutions, then why is it that the 
NIH grant scoring process does 

not give points to the diversity 
of the research team?” Eniola-
Adefeso said.

Korie 
Grayson, 
an 

engineering postdoctoral fellow 
in Eniola-Adefeso’s lab, said it 
is essential to identify the core 
issues in the research funding 
process to ensure it can be 
successfully eliminated, as the 
paper does. 

Grayson said the disparity 

in 
research 
funding 
is 

unsurprising 
since 
women 

of 
color 
pursuing 
research 

have to combat unwelcome 
environments and numerous 
gender and racial biases and 
stereotypes while working in 
the field.

“Being 
half 
as 
likely 
to 

be 
funded 
as 
your 
white 

counterpart who is basically 
on the same level as you is 
discouraging,” Grayson said. 
“It is discouraging but it is 
not surprising, which is the 

sad part. In order to have 
more young scientists of color, 
specifically Black women, there 
has to be a change.”

The Biomedical Engineering 

Society, a student organization 
promoting 
networking 

and research panels in the 
biomedical engineering field at 
the University, agreed with the 
paper’s findings. In an email to 
The Daily, Engineering senior 
Likitha Nimmagadda, president 
of the Biomedical Engineering 
Society, 
emphasized 
the 

organization’s 
support 
for 

the need to ensure equitable 
research grants awarded by the 
NIH.

“The BMES chapter at U of 

M fully supports and agrees 
with the sentiments expressed 
by the authors of the ‘Fund 
Black scientists’ commentary 
published in Cell,” Nimmagadda 
wrote. “Black scientists must be 
funded at the same rate as white 

scientists and improving this 
racial funding disparity must be 
prioritized. In order to improve 
equity 
in 
funding 
received 

by researchers, we must ‘see 
color’.” 

Eniola-Adefeso also said the 

conception of the paper was 
spurred by the death of George 
Floyd, a Black man who was 
killed on May 25 by police. 
She said the murder prompted 
biomedical engineering faculty 
members to discuss and work 
to combat racial inequities 
existing in the research field.

“We can no longer allow this 

to go under the radar,” Eniola-
Adefeso said. “We have a voice 
as faculty and we felt like this 
was a time to reengage the NIH 
in this conversation.”

Daily Staff Reporter Navya 

Gupta 
can 
be 
reached 
at 

itznavya@umich.edu. 

Report by U-M professor calls for end to racial disparities in government research spending

NAVYA GUPTA
Daily Staff Reporter

In his book “When Germs 

Travel,” Markel makes the case 
for a globally funded public 
health program. 

Markel 
said 
the 
World 

Health Organization has a very 
small staff and must be invited 
into a country because it has no 
“police powers.”

“The main thesis of (the 

book) 
is 
that 
germs 
don’t 

respect borders,” Markel said. 
“There’s no sovereignty to an 
epidemic — they travel. An 
outbreak anywhere can easily 
go everywhere, as we found 
out.” 

Markel 
is 
especially 

interested in the weaponization 
of epidemics against immigrant 
and migrant groups. Markel, 
who worked at an AIDS clinic 
as a graduate student at Johns 
Hopkins University and at an 
immigrant hostel in Detroit, 
said this interest stemmed 
from his Eastern European 

Jewish heritage. 

Markel learned from his 

grandparents — who raised 
him in a bilingual household 
speaking Yiddish — that the 
typhus 
fever 
and 
cholera 

epidemics had been blamed 
on Eastern European Jewish 
immigrants in New York City 
at the turn of the century.

“I wanted to delve into the 

Yiddish press and sources to 
see how they experienced it, in 
comparison to how the Anglo-
American or white American 
press encountered it,” Markel 
said. “Of course, they knew 
what was going on. They knew 
enough science and they knew 
they were being corralled.”

Markel said the “uses and 

misuses 
of 
public 
health 

measures as social means” 
contributed 
to 
staggering 

misconceptions about patients 
affected by the AIDS epidemic. 
While working at the AIDS 
clinic, 
Markel 
said 
many 

patients who were gay or used 
intravenous drugs asked him if 
they’d be quarantined.

“First, I said, ‘Well, no, 

it’s not the right disease, it’s 
sexually transmitted and that 
wouldn’t be the way to do 
it,’” Markel said. “But, I kept 
hearing this question and as a 
doctor, you don’t hear the same 

social question over and over 
again. You hear, like, ‘Will it 
hurt? How much does it cost?’ 
Or, ‘What are the side effects?’ 
But you don’t hear that.” 

Markel said the realization 

that the political manipulation 
of quarantine was used as 
an excuse to isolate already 
stigmatized 
or 
scapegoated 

populations struck him “like a 
lightning bolt.”

He also said his patients were 

painfully aware of this trend. 
To these patients, the word 
quarantine 
was 
not 
simply 

code for a public health policy, 

but rather a metaphor for the 
increasing stigmatization and 
isolation that resulted from 
their illness.

In his book “Quarantine,” 

Markel 
said 
his 
historical 

research and clinical practices 
are similar because they both 
require him to use primary 
sources to arrive at a diagnosis.

Markel said he feels an 

obligation to bring attention 
to marginalized communities, 
referencing 
his 
work 
with 

individuals who have AIDS. 

“(I have a) responsibility 

to 
bear 
witness 
and 
tell 

the stories (of scapegoated 
groups),” Markel said. “What 
I was inspired to do, based on 
what I saw in my clinic with 
AIDS patients, was to dig as 
deeply as I could.”

Markel 
said 
even 
while 

taking on various roles — such 
as medical historian, physician 
or writer — he never forgets 
the Hippocratic oath he took to 
protect and serve his patients. 
Though he said he has been 
accused of holding partisan 

opinions after writing about 
strategies for containing the 
virus, Markel said he cannot 
endorse viewpoints that do not 
protect his patients’ lives.

“I’m a pediatrician, and I 

take care of kids,” Markel said. 
“I’m pretty sure that if I told 
people I wouldn’t do everything 
in my power to preserve lives, 
no one would want me as their 
doctor.” 

When 
asked 
about 
what 

kind of work he will do for the 
remainder of the pandemic, 
Markel emphasized his range 
of expertise. 

“I’m a medical historian, 

and so I don’t pretend to know 
anything about how to predict 
the future,” Markel said. “But 
what we do know from history 
is what works, so I can say with 
confidence that we know social 
distancing and flattening the 
curve works.”

Daily 
News 
Contributor 

Sierra Élise Hansen can be 
reached at hsierra@umich.edu.

MARKEL
From Page 1

The University’s Office of 

Public Affairs declined to 
comment on Weiser’s emails.

Weiser, incoming co-chair 

of the Michigan Republican 
Party, faced criticism from 
some 
in 
the 
University 

community after the Jan. 6 
Capitol riot. More than 150 
U-M professors signed onto 
a request that Weiser resign, 
arguing 
that 
attempts 
by 

members of the Michigan 
GOP to overturn the 2020 
presidential 
election 
by 

perpetuating lies about voter 
fraud make his role as regent 
and head of the state party 
incompatible. 

“These events are not an 

aberration but the inevitable 
end result of positions the 
MI-GOP has openly endorsed 
or tacitly tolerated, with your 
consent and support,” the 
request reads. “As Trump’s 
Michigan 
campaign 
chair, 

you directly contributed to 
the rise of a politician who, 
as President of the United 
States, incited a mob to storm 
the nation’s Capitol with the 
express aim of preventing the 
certification of a democratic 
election.”

Weiser 
has 
repeatedly 

condemned the violence at 
the Capitol and said it is time 
for Republicans to move on 
from the 2020 election. His 
incoming co-chair, Meshawn 
Maddock, 
organized 
buses 

of Michigan supporters of 
former 
President 
Donald 

Trump to Washington, D.C., 
for the Jan. 6 “stop the steal” 
rally that turned into an 
insurrection.

Maddock 
retweeted 
a 

video of Trump supporters 
marching to the Capitol that 
afternoon with the caption: 
“The most incredible crowd 
and sea of people I’ve ever 
walked with (heart emoji).” 

Weiser 
told 
Bridge 

Michigan 
on 
Jan. 
7 
that 

Maddock did not incite the 
riot. He said he did not know 
if Trump bore any blame.

“I didn’t read any of that 

stuff, and I didn’t watch 
television,” 
Weiser 
told 

Bridge. “I watched Michigan 
destroy 
Minnesota 
in 

basketball, and that kind of 
contest is something that I 
strongly support.”

Weiser has not mentioned 

Trump or anyone else as 
holding responsibility in his 
statements. 

“To move forward as a 

party, we must acknowledge 
our mistakes and never let 
them happen again,” Weiser 
tweeted on Jan. 9. “Let me 
be clear, the events in our 
nation’s Capital this week 
were both incredibly tragic 
and 
wrong. 
People 
were 

misled. And that resulted in 
death and destruction. That is 
unacceptable and abhorrent.”

Weiser did not respond 

to a request to comment for 
this story. Regents Katherine 
White (D), Michael Behm 
(D), Denise Ilitch (D), Mark 
Bernstein (D) did not respond 
to 
requests 
for 
comment. 

Regents Jordan Acker (D) and 
Sarah Hubbard (R) declined to 
comment. Regent Paul Brown 
(D) 
declined 
to 
comment 

on specific emails, but said 
Weiser is an “exceptional” 
regent.

“Although 
our 
political 

views differ greatly, I know 
that he always has the best 
interest 
of 
the 
University 

at heart,” Brown wrote. “I 
would also hope that we 
live in a world that would 
excuse me, or anyone else, 
who inadvertently sends a 
personal email. Additionally, 
I know the board has actual 
important things to worry 
about.”

Daily News Editor Calder 

Lewis 
can 
be 
reached 
at 

calderll@umich.edu.

WEISER
From Page 1

“Since 
the 
(stay 
in 
place 

recommendation) 
I’ve 
gotten 

(takeout) and that’s it,” Dirkman 
said. “But I think that I will go to 
restaurants more (once the order 
ends).” 

In contrast, LSA freshman 

Annie Cress has ruled out going 
to a restaurant for indoor dining 
regardless of the stay in place 
recommendation and said she has 
reservations about whether or not 
restaurants would actually be able 
to stop the spread.

“I don’t feel 100% comfortable, 

it really depends on what the 
restaurants are doing with their 

(safety) guidelines,” Cress said. 
“But I do get takeout to support 
local businesses.”

Adam Baru, owner of Isalita 

and Mani Osteria, said that with 
the current situation, he doesn’t 
feel 
comfortable 
opening 
his 

restaurant to indoor dining. Baru, 
whose restaurant is fairly reliant 
on student life, said there is a 
certain experience one gets when 
coming to his restaurant. If all 
of his guests and employees are 
not entirely comfortable at his 
restaurant, then he is not going to 
open.

“Opening 
and 
closing 
and 

opening and closing is really hard 
on a restaurant,” Baru said. “I’d 
rather wait until we’re out of the 
woods to be at the point where 

scales tip in favor of safety instead 
of being open because we want or 
need to be open.” 

Baru also acknowledged his 

business was privileged enough 
to not have to worry about 
finances, as he is certain they will 
survive until the vaccine is widely 
available.

The 
University’s 
plans 
for 

Winter 2021 influenced some 
business owners’ decision on 
whether or not to resume indoor 
dining. The plans, which were 
announced in an email from 
University 
President 
Schlissel 

on Nov. 6, consisted of the 
vast majority of classes being 
conducted online and reduced 
occupancy in U-M residence halls.

Jared Hoffman, owner of Salads 

UP on E. Liberty St., estimated 
that students made up almost 70% 
of his clientele, and not having 
them on campus was a factor in 
his decision to transition away 
from a sit-down establishment 
and towards a grab-and-go style 
restaurant.

“Ann Arbor, we’re really a 

college town,” Hoffman said. 
“The campus was built here for 
student life and the students 
really 
drive 
business 
traffic. 

I 
totally 
understand 
(the 

University’s decision), but when 
you lose X amount of students, 
the whole economy and the town 
is affected.”

RESTAURANTS
From Page 1

Design by Melissa Lee

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

“I’m a medical historian, and so 
I don’t pretend to know anything 
about how to predict the future... 

But what we do know from 

history is what works, so I can 

say with confidence that we know 
social distancing and flattening 

the curve works.”

