Beier Lab Anti-Racism Statement

All Beier Lab members stand against racism and inequality. We recognize the importance of, and are committed to, cultivating a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity includes, but is not limited to, differences in age, race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status, among others. Maintaining diversity of these characteristics is important, as they can only serve to better our science and outreach efforts.

To instill inclusive values and support students of diverse backgrounds, the Beier lab is committed to pushing forward a number of initiatives. First, the lab has scheduled weekly meetings surrounding anti-racism and bias in science. In addition to these structured anti-racism discussions, whenever possible, lab meetings and journal clubs will include contextual information that grounds our research in its (often racist) roots and historical context. Second, the lab has established a channel for sharing ideas and resources related to promoting diversity and inclusion in our Slack workspace, in order to have an ongoing discussion about how the lab can contribute to anti-racism. These resources will also be published and updated regularly on our lab website.

To recruit, support, and retain members of underrepresented minorities, the Beier lab is committed to educational outreach. To further support diversity in science, we will strive to provide both informal mentorship in the lab and formal mentorship through a consistent, structured tutoring pipeline and mentor-mentee program. We will equip students with mentorship opportunities of their own, as well as provide additional support to those who experience hardships in their training. The Beier lab also encourages undergraduates to gain exposure to the greater scientific community through poster presentations and talks, and will give students the tools and constructive criticism they require to succeed. 

We are also committed to fostering lab members’ future career goals, and we hope to show underrepresented students that a career in the sciences is a viable option. To this end, the lab will offer paid undergraduate positions, sponsor high school students and undergraduates, and will commit to hiring full-time technical positions.

Action items the Beier lab commits to: 

1. Increase connection and participation with UCI’s work-study program to target students in the program
2. In line with our active commitment to mentorship, we will implement the following for all undergraduates in the lab: 
   1. 1-1 mentorship with a graduate student or staff scientist
   2. Career advice and guidance 
   3. How to write resumes / CVs / cover letters
   4. How to write successful personal statements and essays for graduate or medical school
   5. Annual “B-lab 101/102/103” course to learn how to critically analyze and present scientific research articles
   6. Regular meetings with Kevin Beier (PI) to discuss progress and future career endeavors and opportunities
3. Create in-house resources using digital and social media to teach and make our science understandable
4. Graduate students will actively participate in mentorship skill seminars and courses to improve communication and develop successful relationships between lab members
   1. All – Mentoring in Excellence Program – https://grad.uci.edu/academics/mentoring.php
   2. May – M&M (Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) + Minority Association for Pre-medical Students (MAPS) mentorship program)
   3. Lizzy – SOM Allyship Course
   4. Pieter – MCSB Peer Mentoring Program
   5. Aly – Pharm Sci Peer Mentoring Program
   6. Desiree – DECADE Representative for School of Medicine, INP Mentoring Program, Participant of CNLM Dismantling Systemic Racism Working Groups
5. Partner with the CNLM to help run and participate in outreach activities (https://cnlm.uci.edu/outreach/)