To be absolutely clear in the current environment, the bias identified here was a bias for white lead investigators and also for topics that are favored by white investigators, regardless of the lead investigator’s race.
But of course, scientists are human actors, living in societies. Research funding reflects their biases. This has shown up in geographic, racial, and gender disparities, and in the past, the federal government has taken steps to fix this. In other words, science/politics are intertwined in practice.
Drug Monkey
Topic choice is a previously unappreciated contributor to the lower rate of NIH awards to AA/B scientists.
