F E AT U R E
A group, mostly consisting of neuroscientists, meets bi-weekly outside the lab with a simple but powerful common purpose – to fundamentally change the bench. “This experience has been eye-opening,” said Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, Ph.D., assistant professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester and chair of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Diversity Commission. “It is such a diverse group in every sense – cultural, gender, experience in both academics and nonacademics – we are all able to have input and listen to each other while considering different perspectives and focusing on one problem together.” In 2020, the Neuroscience Diversity Commission (NDC) was formed following a letter penned by the director of the Del Monte Institute, John Foxe, Ph.D., in response to the death of George Floyd. It read in part: “For people of good intention and loving heart, this is a profoundly uncomfortable time. We are left to wonder what we can do. But we need to be asking ourselves also, what have we not done? Expressions of support and aspirations to diversity are all very well, the establishment of diversity offices and appointment of dedicated deans for equity and inclusion represent real progress, but words are just words, and these actions are only a beginning. Transformational change requires bold and decisive action.” Nathan A. Smith, Ph.D., M.S. (’10), Ph.D. (’13), read the letter while he was in Washington, D.C., serving as principal investigator and the director of Basic Neuroscience Research in the Center for Neuroscience Research at The Children's
National Hospital and Research Institute and assistant professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology and Physiology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Though states away, he felt drawn to become part of the percolating movement at his alma mater. “I went through it. I was the first African American to graduate from the [Neuroscience Graduate] program. I had to be a part of the change to create a more diverse and inclusive environment. I did not create the problem, but I wanted to be a part of the solution to fix it,” Smith said, who has since returned to Rochester as an associate professor of Neuroscience and associate dean for Equity and Inclusion in Research and Research Education in the School of Medicine and Dentistry. “I believe in the mission here. I think that by putting the right people at the table, we can make a substantial change in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I want to be a part of that and make sure we get it right.” June 2020 was pivotal for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Rochester Medical Center and School of Medicine and Dentistry. It was the month that the CEO of URMC and SMD Dean Mark Taubman, M.D., committed to a comprehensive equity and anti-racism plan for our Medical Center. Adrienne Morgan, Ph.D., vice president for Equity and Inclusion, URMC and senior associate dean for Equity and Inclusion, SMD, took the helm of this initiative. Two months later, she also became a member of the NDC. “The Neuroscience Diversity Commission should be the model that other departments look to in this space,” Morgan said. “The fact that they have brought in external people to be a part of their efforts to get a more diverse sense of what is happening in the world and bring that back to our institution and share what we are doing outward has been transformative.” The Neuroscience Diversity Commission (opposite image, top) From left (back): Bryan Redmond, Adrienne Morgan, Ph.D., Shaun Nelms, Ph.D., Shraddah Shah. From left (front): Manuel GomezRamirez, Ph.D., Tufikameni Brima, Ph.D., Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, Ph.D., Elizabeth Berry, Nathan A. Smith, Ph.D.
From left: John Foxe, Ph.D., Nathan A. Smith, Ph.D., and Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, Ph.D. 4
NDC members not pictured: Katherine Andersh, John GonzalezAmoretti, Chigusa Kurumada, Ph.D., Sarah Latchney, Ph.D., Ania Majewska, Ph.D., Monique Mendes, Ph.D., Victoria Popov, Keshov Sharma, Rianne Stowell, Ph.D., and Kathryn Toffolo.
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER | ERNEST J. DEL MONTE INSTITUTE FOR NEUROSCIENCE
