The Science of Health Disparities Research

Maria F. Lima CUNY School of Medicine The City College of New York New York, NY USA

Benmei Liu National Cancer Institute National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Jacqueline J. Lloyd National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institutes of Health Rockville, MD USA

Jill A. Marsteller Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD USA

Linda Sprague Martinez School of Social Work Boston University Boston, MA USA

David O. Meltzer Department of Medicine The University of Chicago Chicago, IL USA

Priscah Mujuru National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Anup K. Nair Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institutes of Health Phoenix, AZ USA

Emily Nangle Department of Epidemiology, School of Global Public Health New York University New York, NY USA

Anna M. Nápoles National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Uchenna J. Ndulue Boston Public Health Commission, Child Adolescent and Family Health Bureau Boston, MA USA

Tung T. Nguyen School of Medicine University of California San Francisco, CA USA

Abigail Ortiz Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center Jamaica Plain, MA USA

John E. Pachankis School of Public Health Yale University New Haven, CT USA

William V. Padula Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics, School of Pharmacy University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA USA; Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics Los Angeles, CA USA

Jane Pang Pacific Islander Health Partnership Huntington, Beach, CA USA

Nina S. Parikh Department of Epidemiology, School of Global Public Health New York University New York, NY USA

Eliseo J. Pérez‐Stable National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Robert L. Phillips American Board of Family Medicine Washington, DC USA

Latrice C. Pichon Social and Behavioral Sciences University of Memphis Memphis, TN USA

Tanjala S. Purnell Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD USA

Nishadi Rajapakse National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Amelie G. Ramirez Institute for Health Promotion Research University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, TX USA

Neda Ratanawongsa Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine at Zuckerberg, San Francisco General Hospital University of California‐San Francisco San Francisco, CA USA; Center for Vulnerable Populations University of California‐San Francisco San Francisco, CA USA; San Francisco Department of Public Health San Francisco, CA USA; Richard Fine People’s Clinic San Francisco, CA USA

William T. Riley Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Erik J. Rodriquez National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Adelaida Rosario Commissioned Corps Headquarters Office of the Surgeon General Rockville, MD USA

Charles N. Rotimi Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health, National Human Genome Research Institute National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Melanie D. Sabado‐Liwag National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Mariana Sanchez Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work Florida International University Miami, FL USA

Milda R. Saunders Department of Medicine The University of Chicago Chicago, IL USA

Dean Schillinger Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine at Zuckerberg, San Francisco General Hospital University of California‐San Francisco San Francisco, CA USA; Center for Vulnerable Populations University of California‐San Francisco San Francisco, CA USA; Richard Fine People’s Clinic San Francisco, CA USA

Daniel Shriner Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health, National Human Genome Research Institute National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Sarah C. Stallings Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN USA; Meharry‐Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN USA

Anita L. Stewart Institute for Health and Aging, Center for Aging in Diverse Communities University of California San Francisco, CA USA

Andrea Williams Stubbs St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Memphis, TN USA

Meryl Sufian National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Derrick C. Tabor National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Sora Park Tanjasiri University of California Irvine, CA USA

Claudia Toledo‐Corral Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA USA

Hannah A. Valantine Scientific Workforce Diversity, Office of the Director National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

Elizabeth Vang Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA USA

Salina P. Waddy Department of Neurology, Atlanta Veterans Administration Decatur, GA USA

Nina Wallerstein College of Population Health University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM USA

Joan Wasserman Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Bethesda, MD USA

Kristina Weeks Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD USA

Roy E. Weiss Miller School of Medicine University of Miami Miami, FL USA

Marquitta White School of Medicine University of California San Francisco, CA USA

Consuelo H. Wilkins Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN USA; Meharry‐Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN USA

Kesi Williams National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA; Center for Research to Advance Community Health (REACH) UT Health San Antonio San Antonio, TX USA

Jessamine Winer‐Jones IBM Watson Health International Business Machines (IBM)Corporation Herndon, VA USA

Cheryl A. Winkler Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute National Institutes of Health Frederick, MD USA

Kent Woo NICOS Chinese Health Coalition San Francisco, CA USA

Shumei Yun Resolve to Save Lives and Vital Strategies New York, NY USA

Xingyou Zhang US Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, DC USA

Xinzhi Zhang Division of Clinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD USA

January 10, 1992, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published within its Guide for Grants and Contracts , special instructions to applicants regarding implementation of new policies concerning the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical research study populations. Many of the senior authors of chapters in this seminal volume and I were among those who advocated strongly for this, then, new policy. It spoke to the under‐representation of racial and ethnic minorities in the science of the times, and strongly argued for closer attention to their inclusion in NIH‐sponsored research as a means of improving said science. The introductory chapter to this volume chronicles the circumstances that led to this policy change, as well as the ensuing response on the part of the NIH and Department of Health and Human Services to its implementation.