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Recognize-Bias

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Hi Reddit! Today, Science Magazine published “Doing Science while Black,” by Dr. Ed Smith, a native of Sierra Leone who studied and now teaches in the US. He writes “Being an academic scientist in this country with my skin color and accent has not been easy, but I hope that my resilience amid significant challenges offers a path for younger minority scientists.” Dr. Smith’s article fits within an important conversation around bias within the field of science. Many leaders from the science community have been participating in that discussion, including Dr. Shirley Malcom, the director of the Education and Human Resource programs of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Malcom works tirelessly to improve the quality and increase access to education and careers in STEM fields as well as to enhance public science literacy. The American Association from the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is proud to offer a platform for conversations around identifying, confronting, and overcoming implicit bias, publishing articles such as Carrie Arnold’s “Countering gender bias at conferences;” hosting panels that explore how to counter implicit bias in peer review; and presenting sessions at our Annual Meeting—including last year’s “Opting out? Gender, Societal Affluence, and 8th Graders’ Aspirations for Math Jobs,” and “Expanding Potential: Overcoming Challenges of Underrepresented STEM Groups.” We’re teaming up to answer questions about how implicit bias is manifest in the sciences (for example, in peer review, in accepting articles for publication, in promoting people to leadership positions), how individuals can identify and overcome bias, and how institutions can put smart policies in place to minimize the impact of implicit bias. We are: Dr. Shirley Malcom is the head of Education and Human Resources Programs at AAAS. Dr. Ed Smith is a professor of comparative genomics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg Dr. Avery D. Posey, Jr., Ph.D.: I am an Instructor in the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. My laboratory develops chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies to target human and canine cancers, including leukemia, myeloma, pancreatic, prostate, breast, and colon cancer, specifically by recognizing cancer-specific glycosylation. I am passionate about inclusion and diversity in academic science, from trainee through faculty. Dr. Caleph B. Wilson, Ph.D.: I am an industry scientist, co-founder of the National Science & Technology News Service (@NSTNSorg) and logistics director of the National Science Policy Group (@NatSciPolGroup). In addition to my career as a researcher, I advocate for STEM equity and inclusion through science communication, outreach and policy reforms. We’ll be live at 4 PM EST (1 PM PST, 9 PM UTC)– ask us anything! EDIT: Thank you all for participating in this AMA with us. We enjoyed it, but have to get off now.