Over the last several months the Diversity Committee has been planning for events at the Annual Meeting as well as several other initiatives. Here’s a little summary along with thank you’s to committee members who have made 2023 such a productive year:
Addressing Citation Bias: At NACOB 2022, journalologist and keynote speaker David Moher got us all thinking about biases in scientific publishing, and a subcommittee met several times to discuss what ASB might do to address citation bias. There are several significant hurdles due to privacy concerns and lack of data, but we plan to release some recommendations soon for authors, reviewers, and journals. These discussions led to the topic for the Diversity Lunch (see below). Thanks to Ana Ebrahimi, Deanna Schmidt, Emma Fortune Ngufor, Frances Sheehan Gavelli, Joan Bechtold, Srikant Vallabhajosula, and Stacie Ringleb!
Affinity Groups and Non-Profit Partners: We have been working on formal policies governing ASB Affinity Groups and partnerships with external non-profit organizations. Thanks to Alexa Johnson and Christopher Wilburn for soliciting feedback from the many groups and for your help in drafting the new policies that we hope to have approved by the Executive Board and in place by the annual meeting.
B-SURE: Thanks to financial support again from Nike, we have been able to offer B-SURE scholarships to 6 deserving students to learn more about biomechanics research and hopefully become a lifelong biomechanist. Congratulations to Adriana Chacón Zeledón, Marie Palomo, Pamela Chaves Chaves, Patricia Delgado Córdoba, Paulina Trevino, Silvia Campos Vargas, and Steve Wilson! Thanks to David Lipps, Hugo Giambini, and Kota Takahashi reviewing the applications.
Diversity Travel Awards: We have just awarded 18 diversity travel awards to support attendance at the annual meeting. Consistent with our mission and that of NIH, we prioritized increasing representation based on historically excluded racial, ethnic, disability, and gender identities. We do not announce the winners of this award to respect their privacy, but congratulations to all the winners nevertheless! Due to a special R13 award from NIH, we were able this year to supplement the complimentary registration with a travel honorarium. Thanks to Jeff Reinbolt for leading the R13 submission and to David Lipps for reviewing assistance.
Annual Meeting events: We have several diversity-themed events happening in Knoxville. On Tuesday 8/8 from 1-5pm we’ll have a workshop on “Creating the Future of Biomechanics Through Comprehensive Admissions Practices.” This collaborative event co-sponsored by Black Biomechanists Association features several experts who have been working “in the trenches” on admissions for years. The event will feature several small-group discussions where attendees can develop personal action plans for success. Register for this session when you register for the meeting. Thanks to Kharma Foucher, Matt McCullough, and Michelle Sabick for joining me in this workshop.
On Wednesday 8/9 from 7:30-9pm we’ll hold the annual Women In Science event. As usual, this event gives great opportunities for networking as well as to learn how you can be more successful as a female-identifying person and as an ally and advocate. This year’s topic is “Overcoming the Likeability Trap: Feedback, Authenticity and Team Balance.” Just like last year, we’ll have facilitators at each table to help attendees better understand what you can do to avoid getting caught in the Likeability Trap and to avoid setting that trap for others. To maximize attendance, we use a separate registration that will go out to registered meeting attendees. If you are interested in being a facilitator, please email asbdiversity@asbweb.org to let us know. Thanks to Missy Morrow, Maria Pasquale, Robin Queen, Jacqueline Cole, and Rob Creath for organizing this event.
On Thursday 8/10 from 1-2:30pm we’ll hold the annual Diversity Lunch. Bring your boxed lunch to hear a virtual presentation by Holly Falk-Krzesinski, PhD, Vice President of Research Intelligence and Co-Chair of the Gender Equity Taskforce at Elsevier on how Elsevier is studying bias in academic publishing and what to do about it. We’ll also have time to discuss in small groups how we individually can be part of the solution. Thanks to the Addressing Citation Bias Subcommittee, especially Frances Sheehan Gavelli, for helping to organize this session.
The Next Diversity Chair: Lastly, this is my last newsletter as ASB Diversity Chair and I want to thank everyone at ASB for helping to create a more just, equitable, and inclusive Society. It has been a real pleasure making an impact with all of the members who have engaged as committee members over the past 3 years. Since Summer 2020 we have made some great strides, and there is still a lot to do. I am very pleased to welcome the incoming Diversity Chair, Christopher Wilburn from Auburn University, who has been very involved with both the Diversity Committee and the Black Biomechanists Association. He’s got great plans for new initiatives, and I know he is going to lead us to new heights!