For many of us – especially in healthcare and adjacent professions – it’s easy to get lost in pandemic news because we’ve heard little else for months. But although COVID-19 remains at the forefront of our minds, we must not allow it to deflect our attention from other issues, such as racism, bias, and inequality, that affect us just as deeply.
Scientists are not above bias. We are not above mistakes or ignorance or prejudice – and we are certainly not above a degree of blindness to our own privilege.
This month’s editorial is short, because mine is not the voice we should all be listening to right now. Instead, I’ll take this opportunity to point you in the direction of other voices:
Valerie Fitzhugh writes about her experience as a Black woman in medicine (and specifically pathology) to both inspire and educate.
Angelina Knott, Robin Suggs, and Timothy Craig Allen propose a community-supported approach to role modeling and encouraging Black children to “dream big”.
Kamran Mirza shares his experience of prejudice in pathology and offers lessons to be learned from the pathologist’s perspective.
I hope, as you read the upcoming issue and congratulate our 2020 Power List finalists, you’ll join us in celebrating the diversity that the laboratory can foster – and in asking a simple question: how can we do better?
While obtaining degrees in biology from the University of Alberta and biochemistry from Penn State College of Medicine, I worked as a freelance science and medical writer. I was able to hone my skills in research, presentation and scientific writing by assembling grants and journal articles, speaking at international conferences, and consulting on topics ranging from medical education to comic book science. As much as I’ve enjoyed designing new bacteria and plausible superheroes, though, I’m more pleased than ever to be at Texere, using my writing and editing skills to create great content for a professional audience.
