Diversity and Outreach

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

Our lab is a diverse and inclusive community. Our diversity of backgrounds, disciplines and personal journeys through science, education and academia is an essential component of who we are and what we do. We expect mutual respect and support from each other, hold ourselves and each other to the highest standards of scientific integrity, and value science as a universal language for humankind.

Despite being a diverse community, we recognize that academia has a long history of discrimination, racism and injustice, which to this day create strong biases in the opportunities that different researchers have to fulfill their dreams and potential, and silences the voices of scientists from underrepresented minorities. As a community, we pledge to: (i) Welcome in our lab colleagues from any background, skin color, religion, gender, affectional orientation, nationality, ethnicity or any other self-identified identity; (ii) Have zero tolerance for racist or discriminatory behavior; (iii) Provide concrete support to colleagues who speak out against racism; (iv) Actively reach out to communities under-represented in academia, and create of opportunities for kids to pursue paths in STEM; (iv) Respect and encourage lab members to take time off for holidays/events of personal importance; (v) Support administrative and policy initiatives that further the cause of anti-racism; (vi) Acknowledge our own incapacity of being free from implicit biases, work towards correcting them, and be vigilant to how these biases may affect our colleagues; (vii) Follow publication practices that make research accessible and equitable, and that rewards scientists fairly for their contributions in the form of appropriate authorship.

This document is inspired by conversations we engaged in, and by similar documents posted by others. It is not a finished document; rather, our work toward antiracism will be always ongoing and evolving as it needs to.