Dr. L. Ebony Boulware, Professor and Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, is the first-author on a perspective in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published Saturday, entitled, Combating Structural Inequities — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical and Translational Research.
The paper begins by stating "The Covid-19 pandemic has rendered U.S. racial, ethnic, and social health inequities too stark to ignore."
The authors provide perspective on goals for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in translational research, and identify strategies from the Clinical and Translational Science Awards National Consortium for addressing this specifically in leadership, training, research, and clinical trials.
"Sincere intent to dismantle structural inequities in science and medicine will require thoughtful planning, real investments, and accountability," tweets Boulware. 
Boulware's career has focused on improving health and health equity for individuals and communities affected by chronic health conditions such as kidney disease. A national thought leader in health equity, she has identified patient, clinician, system, and community-level barriers that result in disparate outcomes for underrepresented minorities. Using pragmatic trials, she has developed successful interventions, shaped guidelines, raised physician awareness, and changed clinical practice. Throughout her work, Dr. Boulware has sought to improve transparency and trustworthiness in science and medicine.
Click here to read the full article on the NEJM website.
Boulware LE, Corbie G, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Wilkins CH, Ruiz R, Vitale A, Egede LE. Combating Structural Inequities - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical and Translational Research. N Engl J Med. 2022 Jan 15. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2112233. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35029847.