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Perspectives on disparities in scientific visibility

Scientific visibility is key to an academic career and rooted in the traditional academic cycle of training, (informal) connections, support, publications, citations, recognition and funding — a cycle from which under-represented groups are often excluded. In this Viewpoint, five scientists discuss experiences and thoughts about disparities in scientific visibility and provide action points.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Omolola Eniola-Adefeso is the University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Macromolecular Sciences at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Tejal A. Desai is the Ernest L Prien Endowed Chair and Deborah Cowan Endowed Professor of the Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco and Professor in Residence, Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley.

Kelly R. Stevens is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Bioengineering and Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington.

Maribel Vazquez is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Princess Imoukhuede is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Director of Diversity Initiatives for the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Tejal A. Desai, Omolola Eniola-Adefeso, Kelly R. Stevens, Maribel Vazquez or Princess Imoukhuede.

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The authors declare no competing interests

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Related links

Joint commitment for action on inclusion and diversity in publishing by the Royal Society of Chemistry: https://www.rsc.org/new-perspectives/talent/joint-commitment-for-action-inclusion-and-diversity-in-publishing/

National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE workshop: https://cnx.org/exports/eb60e80c-47cd-439e-be73-892a68306de8@1.1.pdf/2009-nsf-advance-workshop-negotiating-the-ideal-faculty-position-1.1.pdf

NSF Minority Faculty Development Workshops (MFDW): https://www.facultyequity.com/workshops

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Desai, T.A., Eniola-Adefeso, O., Stevens, K.R. et al. Perspectives on disparities in scientific visibility. Nat Rev Mater 6, 556–559 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-021-00329-5

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