Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE) deeply values the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion within the School of Medicine and throughout the entire Stanford community. We are continuously advancing our efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion through our education, research, training, clinical service, and programming.

We are committed to continue dialogue around the structures of inequality in the field of science and society; increase awareness of the diversity issues in medicine by addressing barriers and challenges; provide equal opportunities and maintain a diverse group of faculty, staff and trainees; promote the wellbeing of our community by embracing multiple perspectives and backgrounds; and create an environment that cultivates unity, respect, understanding and collaboration. SCBE faculty, postdocs, affiliates and staff are actively involved in working to combat racial discrimination and promote social justice through the initiatives listed in the next tab.

The Time for Action is Now Statement from SCBE Leadership

June 8, 2020

The past three months have witnessed this country (and the world) go through the most serious pandemic since 1918; the greatest economic collapse since the great depression; and the murder of George Floyd has set off a protest movement across the country that has arguably not been seen since 1968.

All three of these events have something in common. They all expose a hard truth in a fashion too compelling to deny: the underlying racism of our country. Health disparities between white and black Americans, and a similar health-wealth gradient, have been part of public health discussions for many years, but the impact of COVID-19 has made it impossible for society to ignore. Black people are nearly 2.5 as likely to die of COVID-19 as whites. Similar death rate differences exist between poor and affluent populations. Death rate maps correspond to income maps for COVID-19 as they do for nearly every other disease. The economic collapse has also not been felt equally across society. Black unemployment is higher and people of color disproportionately make up underpaid, front line jobs that create higher risk of COVID-19 exposure. In 2016, the net worth of the average black household was $17,150 while the average white household had a net worth of $171,000.

The experience of violence by black Americans at the hands of police has been present for many years. In past decades, it was virtually impossible to prove any wrong doing on the part of police and complaints almost always failed. One big difference exists between that time and ours: the ubiquitous technologies such as cell phones that make it possible to record the abuse and violence by police. Things should be better.

But six years ago, this country heard as Eric Garner was killed from a chokehold, begging for his life, telling the officer choking him “I can’t breathe.” Six years later, the country again heard a black man being brutally killed while saying “I can’t breathe” to an apparently indifferent group of police officers. In the case of Eric Garner, despite the medical examiner ruling that the death was a homicide, no charges were filed against Daniel Pantaleo and it took 5 years for him to be dismissed. Police killing of black people without provocation or cause has apparently been legal in this country. The brutality has continued as the names changed. Will the outcome be different this time?

Now is a time for pain, sorrow, rage, and despair. What can we do in the face of such large problems, of a country that has essentially legalized the murder of black people and created the greatest inequality in wealth in the world? How can we begin to repair the tattered social safety net that any country with the resources and a shred of decency would provide to all who live there? I don’t know how to solve all of these problems, but we must begin to take action. There are steps to be taken that can make it less likely that police will inflict violence.

Campaign Zero offers a whole set of policy recommendations that are evidence based and can improve police conduct and relationships between police and the communities that they are supposed to protect. More immediately, Campaign Zero has launched the #8cantwait project. These are 8 concrete, evidence-based policies that police forces can adopt that have been shown to reduce police violence. Many of these policies are best practices that are in use around the country. The project keeps score of many cities and how they do on these measures. For example, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and San Mateo police have only enacted two of the eight policies; Oakland and San Jose have adopted 5; San Francisco has adopted all eight. Adoption of these policies will not be a panacea or make the problems vanish. But evidence suggests that a significant reduction in violence can be achieved. We must hold police accountable and that can only be done through strict policies and ways of measuring if they are living up to them.

Please write or email your local city council or county board of supervisors and urge them to require that the local police must adopt all 8 of these policies. After that, we can move on to the rest of the Campaign Zero policy recommendations. If enough people send messages and lobby, action should follow. If it doesn’t, then vote against anyone who isn’t actively supporting these policies. This is a concrete action that you can take. It is a small step in a long journey, but we need to find ways to make things better.

For resources to find your local elected officials, see: bit.ly/30oiVvt

As a Center we are thinking about how we can engage more in community outreach and allyship, infuse our courses with discussions of racism as an ethical issue, take on research efforts to address these issues and how we can better advocate to our professional societies to take a stand. For possible resources, the American Journal of Bioethics and bioethics.net have created a Bioethics and Race Toolkit with links to articles and other materials. We invite you reach out to us with your thoughts and suggestions.

In solidarity,

David Magnus, PhD
Director, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics

Holly Tabor, PhD
Associate Director for Clinical Ethics and Education, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics

Mildred Cho, PhD
Associate Director for Research, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics

In the Spotlight

The American Journal of Bioethics Special Issue: Ethics, Medicine, and Racism

Cover Articles

SCBE DEI Efforts

This comprehensive list provides the most up to date work that SCBE faculty, postdocs, affiliates, and staff are undertaking to advocate social justice, diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion. These projects are ever evolving. If interested in learning more about these DEI efforts, please reach out to the appropriate SCBE contact listed below.

Race in Science, Technology, & Medicine

SCBE is one of several co-sponsors of the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) course series STS 51. This 3-course sequence: STS 51A, Fall quarter 2020, focuses on science. STS 51B (Winter 2021) covers technology, and STS 51C (Spring 2021) looks at medicine. Each course can be taken independently.

STS 51A: What is the science of race and racism? How does race affect scientific work? Weekly guest speakers will address such issues as the psychology and anthropology of race and racism; how race, language, and culture affect education; race in climate science and environmental justice; the history of racialized scientific experiments; and the role of race in genomic research. Weekly talks are open to the Stanford community, details and registration for each week's talk here.

STS 51B: How do race and racism affect the design and social impact of technology, broadly defined? Can new or different technology help to reduce racial bias? Invited speakers will address the role of race in such issues as energy infrastructure, nuclear arms control, algorithmic accountability, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology. Weekly talks are open to the Stanford community, details and registration for each week's talk here.

STS 51C: How do race and racism affect medical research and medical care? What accounts for health disparities among racial groups? What are the history, ethics, legal, and social issues surrounding racialized medical experiments and treatments? Invited speakers will address these and other issues. Weekly talks are open to the Stanford community, details and registration for each week's talk forthcoming.

SCBE Contact: Nicole Martinez-Martin, JD, PhD

SCBE Seminars 2020-2021: Justice in Bioethics

The theme of the SCBE Seminar Series for AY2020-2021 is "Justice in Bioethics." SCBE Postdocs have organized talks centered around racial justice, health equity and access. Details on upcoming invited speakers who will discuss on-theme topics can be found here.

SCBE Contacts: Vaso Rahimzadeh, PhD & Carole Federico, PhD

Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA)

Monthly ELSI Friday Forums
- To address issues of race, genetics, and COVID-19, CERA hosts an ELSI monthly (virtual) forum, second Friday of each month.
- See details and links to register for upcoming Friday Forums at ELSIhub.org or ELSIhub on Twitter.
- Recordings of past forums are available:
  - Structural Racism and Genomics in the Time of COVID
  - Addressing Racism in Research and Clinical Practice
Working Group
- CERA has funded a working group developing educational materials regarding genetic testing and immigration, and is facilitating collaboration between academic members of the working group and the ACLU.
Bioethics Briefs, Ethical Guidance for Genetic Research with Indigenous Populations
- CERA is soliciting and commissioning bioethics briefs to be completed in 2020, including on summary briefs of ethical guidance on genetic research with Indigenous populations, including American Indian, Alaska Native and Pacific Islander groups and individuals.
SCBE Contact: Emily Van Poetsch

American Journal of Bioethics / Bioethics.net

The Bioethics and Race Toolkit
- The #BlackBioethics Toolkit serves as a resource on articles about bioethics and race, specifically about African-Americans and Black People in the U.S.
Black Bioethics Webinar
- AJOB’s first-ever webinar on Black Bioethics, hosted by associate editor Kayhan Parsi, JD, Ph.D., featuring panelists Keisha Ray, Ph.D., Brian Williams, MD, Ruqaiijah Yearby, JD, MPH, and Patrick Smith, Ph.D., as they discuss racism, police brutality, and what it means for black health.
Monthly guest editorial about issues of race/racism
- SCBE Contact: Bela Fishbeyn
Defunding the Police is a Bioethical Issue
- Dr. Nicole Martinez-Martin discusses the need to reset municipal budget priorities to reduce police violence and better support the health of Black and other martinalized communities and how bioethicists can contribute to the public discourse regarding defunding efforts.
- SCBE Contact: Nicole Martinez-Martin, JD, PhD

AJOB Special Issue - Ethics, Medicine, and Racism
- Published February 2021
- Select articles
SCBE Contact: Bela Fishbeyn

Medicine and the Muse

Virtual Arts and Anesthesia Soiree 2020
- Co-leader in creating the Virtual Arts and Anesthesia Soiree, for 2020 work featured #WhiteCoatsForBlackLives. Presenting work that response to the Stanford Community speaking out against systemic racism & “The Rally for Racial Justice” on campus to add Stanford Anesthesia voices to a nationwide outcry against racism and violence against African Americans.
I can't breathe: an anesthesiologist's perspective
- Writing from her perspective as an anesthesiologist, Dr. Audrey Shafer provides a call to action against police violence towards Black people.
- SCBE Contact: Audrey Shafer, MD
Literature and Medicine Discussion Series
- Addressing racism with physicians through literature in Literature and Medicine Discussion Series.
Screenplay about racism in surgery
- Under development: Fictional, but realistic, screenplay about racism in surgery
- SCBE Contact: Jacqueline Genovese, MFA
INDE 297 (AY2020-2021) Contextual Medicine course series, Race, Bias, and Medicine
- Class co-directed by Drs. Audrey Shafer and Laurel Braitman.
- SCBE Contacts: Audrey Shafer, MD & Laurel Braitman, PhD
SOMGEN 288 (AY2020-2021) LitMed: Structural Violence and Systemic Racism in Medical Practice
- Class led by Dr. Audrey Shafer, Jacqueline Genovese and Bonnie Wong
- SCBE Contact: Audrey Shafer, MD
Race and medicine publications
- Dr. Braitman is providing individual training/editing/asssistance for clinical faculty and medical students writing nonfiction pieces for publication on various aspects of race, racism, medical practice, and personal experience.
- SCBE Contact: Laurel Braitman, PhD
Anesthesia Diversity Council
- Drs. Audrey Shafer and Alyssa Burgart participate as members of the Anesthesia Diversity Council and Dr. Shafer is the faculty lead for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System Anesthesiology Service.
- SCBE Contacts: Audrey Shafer, MD & Alyssa Burgart, MD
Upstander Not Bystander: Training Session
- Dr. Shafer co-prepared the Upstander Not Bystander training session for Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine Service at VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Goals of the Upstander sesion: identify microaggressions, respond more effectively to microaggressions, normalize conversations about microaggressions. Training was delivered via Zoom in July 2020 and included a brief slide presentation, case scenario from the AAMC MedEd Portal adapted to the care responsibilities of anesthesiologists, panel, and group discussion.
- SCBE Contact: Audrey Shafer, MD
Voices Video
This video is a Stanford Community response to the tragic deaths of so many black and brown Americans, including George Floyd, Beonna Taylor and Ahmaud Aubery in 2020.
- Voices (short)
- Voices (extended)
SCBE Contacts: Jacqueline Genovese, MFA & Christy Hartman

Ongoing SCBE DEI Initiatives, Projects, & Research

Racial socialization in Asian American families (perspectives on #BlackLivesMatter movement)
- Dr. Young collected data for this research in 2016 when first #BlackLivesMatter movement was in public’s attention. The goals of the study were to explore 1) how Asian American young adults viewed their place in the current racial dialogue and 2) how Asian American families talk about racially charged issues.
- Young JL, Kim H, Golojuch L. (2020), “Race was something we didn't talk about”: Racial Socialization in Asian American Families. Fam Relat. doi:10.1111/fare.12495
- Under review: One full drafted manuscript “Asian Americans’ Emerging Racial Identities and Reactions to Racial Tension in the US”
- SCBE Contact: Jennifer Young, PhD
Undiagnosed Diseases Network Diversity Pilot
- Drs. Young, Tabor, and Halley are currently collecting data from underrepresented racial groups in genetics research to expand our knowledge of precision medicine approaches for rare and undiagnosed diseases.
- Seeking help/collaboration for advice about how to conduct comparative qualitative analysis that centers around racial/cultural differences
- SCBE Contacts: Jennifer Young, PhD, Holly Tabor, PhD, & Meghan Halley, PhD
Systematic Review on Genetic Services for Asian Americans
- This systematic review aims to synthesize the literature on Asian American patients’ experiences with genetic counseling and genetic testing. This includes issues of access, awareness, and attitudes towards these services. Our initial findings identified unique needs of this population in genetic counseling settings, as well as the research challenges related to defining this unique and heterogeneous population.
- Under development: Manuscript finalization for submission
- SCBE Contact: Jennifer Young, PhD
International Neuroethics Society (INS)
- Diversity & Inclusion Task Force
- Dr. Martinez-Martin is an inaugural member of the International Neuroethics Society Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and has been integral in the development of the Society's response to racism and identifying initiatives for improving diversity within the INS and neuroethics field.
- INS Annual Meeting Program
- Dr. Martinez-Martin worked with INS colleagues to develop panels with social justice themes and initiatives within the conference to address racism and promote diversity initiatives within the neuroethics field.
- SCBE Contact: Nicole Martinez-Martin, JD, PhD
Facing Bias and Ethical Challenges in Facial Recognition Technology
- In this blog piece, Dr. Martinez-Martin examines a pressing area of ethical concern in facial recognition technology: the potential for bias and discrimination.
- SCBE Contact: Nicole Martinez-Martin, JD, PhD
Use of digital mental health tools to mitigate bias and address racism
- In development: Manuscripts examining the use of digital mental health tools to mitigate bias and address racism
- SCBE Contact: Nicole Martinez-Martin, JD, PhD
Taking an Anti-Racist Posture in Scientific Publications in Human Genetics and Genomics
- Forthcoming publication in Genetics and Medicine co-authored by SCBE Associate Director, Mildred Cho, PhD, Kyle B. Brothers, MD, PhD, and Robin L. Bennett, MS, CGC
- SCBE Contact: Mildred Cho, PhD

DEI Events, Training, & Resources

Upcoming Events

Juneteenth Celebrations

June 18, 2021 - 8:00am to June 25, 2021 - 5:00pm

Juneteenth (also known as Jubilee Day or Emancipation Day) commemorates the date – June 19, 1865 – when enslaved people in Texas finally learned they were free. This was more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. In communities across America, Juneteenth is an opportunity to honor the lives of our ancestors, to celebrate the culture and contributions of Black Americans and to recommit to the work of ensuring equity and justice for all.

See here for more details.

Friday, June 18th - Friday, June 25^th

Cooking Demonstration: Foods of the Black Diaspora

Executive Chef Terry Braggs from Residential & Dining Enterprises gives a 30-minute demonstration as he prepares catfish étouffée and raspberry lemonade.

See here for more details.

Monday, June 21, Noon-1 pm (PST)

"Freedom was not Free" Panel Discussion

Join in this free, online discussion using this Zoom link (link is external). Panelists are:

Ayodele Thomas, Ph.D. Office of Graduate Education (OGE); descendants of Ballew-Broaddus-Simpson-Noland family from Central Kentucky

Jim Embry, Father of Ayodele Thomas; descendants of Ballew-Broaddus-Simpson-Noland family from Central Kentucky

Lettie McGuire, Stanford ACES Aware ECHO, Stanford Medicine; descendants of Lettie Mae (Long) Smith & Thomas Charles Smith from Waco, Texas. Taken from: Ivory Coast, Benin, Nigeria

For more events, please visit the Diversity at Stanford Medicine page here.

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