$600K given to diversify research
A Houston organization is providing $600,000 to promote diversity in space health research.
The Translational Research Institute for Space Health, a NASA-funded organization at the Baylor College of Medicine, is funding two projects that could help underrepresented researchers — women, people of color, people with disabilities and people who identify as LGBTQ — receive more grant money for work that might help humans survive in space.
“We’re effectively starting to really turn on the pipe and really increase the pipeline for underrepresented researchers,” said Asha S. Collins, chair of TRISH’s Diversity Advisory Board who has a Ph.D. in cancer biology/microbiology.
The project was prompted by an internal review that looked at grant applicants from 2017 to 2019. TRISH, which provides funding for disruptive and innovative science, found that 15 percent of its grant applicants identified as Asian, 3 percent as Hispanic or Latino and 2 percent as Black or African American.
On a broader scale, underrepresented minorities — those who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native — received 9 percent of science and engineering doctoral degrees in 2016, according to the National Science Foundation.
This is a problem on multiple levels, ranging from providing diverse ideas when creating research programs to keeping the U.S. competitive in STEM fields.
“As our U.S. population changes and the demographics shift to being sort of more minority-majority, we need to make sure that we have enough people in the pipeline to continue advanced research and advanced research in this area,” Collins said.
That’s why TRISH, a consortium of Caltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology led by the Baylor College of Medicine, created two new partnerships with teams at Texas State University and the University of Florida. Each team is receiving $300,000 provided by TRISH; these other organizations help TRISH access new innovations and researchers.
The main goals are to increase awareness of space health research opportunities and to develop a larger network of underrepresented researchers. This includes women, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTQ and people from racial and ethnic groups that the National Science Foundation reports are underrepresented in health-related sciences, specifically those who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
Texas State University will create at least three new continuing education courses for postdoctoral students. These courses, accredited through the Texas Education Agency, would focus on the challenges of humans living in space. Texas State has similar programs related to NASA and STEM, but these new courses would be specific to TRISH and space health research. Graduates of the digital courses will receive badges and certifications.
Texas State, a Minority Serving Institution, will also use its existing network of minority researchers to help spread the word about TRISH, its new continuing education programs and opportunities to segue health research
for Earth into health research for microgravity.
“Relationship building is everything,” said Kristina Collins, who is leading the Texas State project and has a Ph.D. in educational psychology, “especially when you’re talking about a field where you don’t see people that look like you a lot and you don’t necessarily think that you fit.”
The University of Florida is partnering with Texas A&M University to build a database of underrepresented researchers interested in pursuing space health research. This will help TRISH reach a more diverse group when grant opportunities arise.
And in a second database, the University of Florida will compile space health researchers who have previously worked with TRISH and NASA and would be open to helping other researchers navigate the grant process.
“They can be mentored by people who actually understand how NASA works and understand how TRISH works,” said Collins from the TRISH Diversity Advisory Board. “At the end of the day, what we want to do is get more underrepresented researchers into NASA-focused research.”