Justice, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Seed Grants in Radiology

Left to rightLola Oladini, Peter Poullos, Lisa Meeks, Riley Elizabeth Ann Stanford-Hill, Craig Levin, Shiqin Liu, Laurel Hales, Frezghi Habte

April 28, 2021

The Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative of the Department of Radiology is led by Tanya Stoyanova, Garry Gold, Andrea Tichy and Yun-Ting Yeh. The Initiative is supporting research projects that aim to increase the representation of racial minority members in the Department.

The following projects will be pursued in the 2021/22 academic year:

Break The Glass (BtG): A Pipeline Mentorship Proposal for Recruiting High-Potential URM Applicants from Low-SES Backgrounds into Highly- Competitive Specialties.  Project Lead: Lola Oladini, Project Co-Lead: Oyetewa Oyerinde  

The goals of the project are: 1) to increase visibility of highly-competitive specialties such as radiology among low-income URMs at HBCU (historically-Black Colleges and Universities) medical/college and predominantly Black low-resource high school student, 2) to craft a high-yield leadership curriculum with 8 session that prepares these scholars for leadership and simultaneous financial independence at every level, ultimately to lead successful careers, and 3) to model excellence in radiology/medicine and to increase visibility of Stanford Radiology at professional URM-sponsored National Meetings, and also provide exposure to the field to individuals who may otherwise never be exposed.

Voices of Black, Indigenous and People of Color with Disabilities in Medicine. Project Lead: Peter Poullos, Co-Lead: Lisa Meeks, Team Members: Gilian Kumagai, Vongai Christine Mlambo  

This project aims to amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) healthcare workers (HCW), doctors, and students with disabilities, reduce stereotypes, and provide asynchronous mentorship through the sharing of stories, released as podcasts. Qualitative data from interview transcripts will be used to inform scholarly work on the topic.

Radiology Initiative for Student Education (RISE) - Early Intervention and Assistance for Career Development in Radiology.  Project Lead: Riley Elizabeth Ann Stanford-Hill and Craig Levin, Team Members: Shirin Pourashraf, Andrew Groll 

The goals of the project are to: 1) establish micro-scholarships to create a financial means to transition into college, 2) create professional skill development workshops for (a) high school students from underrepresented areas near the bay area and (b) underrepresented Stanford undergraduates to increase awareness of the field of radiology, and 3) establish a longer-term undergraduate training program to expand diversity and inclusion and promote technical advancement.

Developing Stanford-Clark Atlanta University Research Program. Project Lead: Shiqin Liu, Team Members: Merve Aslan, Tanya Stoyanova  

The goal of the project is to develop a cancer research program at the Department of Radiology for graduate students from Clark Atlanta University. The program aims to: 1) provide opportunities for African American graduate students to conduct research in the Department of Radiology; 2) enhance the diversity in the Department of Radiology by increasing the representation of URMs and bringing diverse perspectives, and 3) provide further opportunities for African American graduate students to pursue postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Radiology at Stanford University in the future.

The SEED (Science Education Enrichment for Diversity) Program. Project Lead: Laurel Hales 

The goal is to develop a new outreach program, the Science Education Enrichment for Diversity (SEED) program, to increase interest in STEM in young under-represented and minority (URM) students by facilitating in-class hands-on learning experiences for 8th-grade students. Further, the program will encourage the development of a more inclusive environment in the department by providing a way for Radiology trainees to gain a greater understanding of diversity and equity issues and their effects on education.

Mini-Fellowship on Molecular Imaging Techniques.  Project Lead: Frezghi Habte, Co-Lead: Arutselvan Natarajan  

The proposed mini-fellowship program will provide a practical introduction to basic science research including biomedical and molecular imaging techniques. The program will provide information along with hands on practical experiences that will help the students stay in focus and pursue their initial interest or discover new better alternative path for their education and future career. Biomedical and molecular imaging is a fast-growing field with much more job opportunities, which will attract more students to join the field and increase the representation of underrepresented minorities from African American and Latino communities in our research community.