Categories: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Results from the largest single study of the genetic and environmental causes of asthma in African American children suggest that only a tiny fraction of known genetic risk factors for the disease apply to this population.

Despite Congressional mandates aimed at diversifying clinical research, little has changed in the last 30 years in both the numbers of studies that include minorities and the diversity of scientists being funded, according to a new analysis by researchers at UC San Francisco.

Authoring the lead commentary in the current special issue of Nature devoted to diversity, School faculty member Esteban Burchard, MD, MPH, asserts that the clinical and biomedical research infrastructure “needs to be retooled” to include more diverse patient populations in studies.

Burchard participates in a panel and explains the differences between race and ethnicity and more with NPR’s Science Friday aired January 15, 2010.

What began as a fascination with fish when he was a child eventually led Esteban Burchard, MD to study genetic differences behind asthma risk.