Initiative to curb bias hasn’t eliminated racial disparities in NIH funding

An image showing the hands of a white man holding the CVs of two applicants, a white one and a black one

Source: © Shutterstock

Study uncovers statistically significant differences between the preliminary overall impact scores awarded to black and white researchers

Researchers have analysed National Institutes for Health (NIH) grant proposals to try to understand why African American researchers are less likely to succeed in their funding applications than their white counterparts. The investigation found that racial disparities are present at the earliest stages of the peer review process, but not in how reviewers combine preliminary impact scores.