Rethinking How Biomedical Researchers Use Race and Ethnicity

A new report released from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Health and Medicine Division addresses the responsible use of race and ethnicity in biomedical research and serves as a call to action for biomedical research to rethink how it uses race and ethnicity. The number of people who identify as multiracial in the U.S. is increasing, yet there is no standard way to account for multiracial or multiethnic people in biomedical research, according to the authors of the final report, Rethinking Race and Ethnicity in Biomedical Research.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an expert committee in 2023 to assess the current use of racial and ethnic categories in biomedical research, review existing guidance for researchers, and provide new direction for future use. The resulting report outlines nine actionable recommendations and associated resources for advancing the responsible use of race and ethnicity including ways to support community engagement. The 271-page report was supported by the Doris Duke Foundation and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

“The committee highlighted the importance of carefully considering the use of race and ethnicity across the research process. This included examining the underlying rationale, working with community partners, ensuring inclusivity, acknowledging data limitations, and understanding the broader research context,” said report co-author Allison Aiello, Columbia Mailman School James S. Jackson Healthy Longevity Professor of Epidemiology in the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center and director of the Program on Biosocial Aging and Health Equity. “This report has the potential to serve as a key guide for biomedical researchers as they consider using race and ethnicity throughout the research process.”

According to AJ Adkins Jackson, assistant professor in Epidemiology and Sociomedical Sciences, whose research was cited in the report: “It is exciting when leading scientific bodies like the National Academies focus on issues like race and racism, which have structural implications for individuals and groups. Without a deep understanding of the history that fabricated our modern obsession with race, we are doomed to keep injuring our people and society with its misuse.”

Danurys Sanchez, senior staff associate at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, also contributed to the report as a participant in the committee’s panel on community perspectives regarding using race and ethnicity in biomedical research and as a reviewer of the draft. At Columbia, Sanchez manages the NIH-funded longitudinal Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP) and other community-centered initiatives. “This report not only rethinks the scientific approach to race and ethnicity but also emphasizes the critical need to ethically and transparently engage with the communities involved,” Sanchez says.

Specifically, the report:

• Documents and evaluates how racial groups and ethnic categories are currently being used in biomedical research, and in current clinical practices;
• Identifies the circumstances in which it is appropriate to use race and ethnicity in biomedical research and the circumstances in which race and ethnicity should not be used to make inferences;
• Reviews existing guidance for researchers on the use of race as a variable in biomedical research.

Based on its review of the literature and other expert input, the committee based its conclusions and recommendations on:

• The use of race and ethnicity in biomedical research, including identifying current practices that should be continued, stopped, or modified;
• Policy changes needed to reform the use of race and ethnicity in biomedical research;
• Implementing strategies to help enhance best practices across the biomedical research community.

“A system that approaches race and ethnicity thoughtfully and is based in evidence is within reach — now is the time to take the steps needed to achieve that goal,” said Victor J. Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine.