Reconsider Use of Race in Biomedical Research, Panel Urges

The past few years have seen a groundswell of concern from researchers about how race, a social construct not based in biology, is misused in biomedicine. The worries have already prompted overhauls of race-based clinical algorithms that were resulting in inadequate medical care for some Black people.

Now, an expert committee convened by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) finds that across biomedical research, scientists need to be more careful and transparent about how they incorporate race and ethnicity into research. The panel’s report released today builds on similar reviews, such as one on genetics research published by NASEM in 2023. The new report recommends scientists use data on these categories in their studies only when necessary to answer a research question; many lab studies of disease mechanisms do not require it, the panel argues.

The report goes on to say researchers should explain how they define race and ethnicity in grant proposals and papers. Scientists should also include in their analyses people who self-identify as multiracial or multiethnic and partner with minority-group communities to guide research.

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