NHGRI awards second annual Bettie J. Graham Leadership Awards for excellence in DEIA

A fundamental part of NHGRI’s mission is developing and supporting a diverse genomics workforce, which includes recognizing the exemplary efforts of people who champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in genomics. To celebrate such efforts, NHGRI created the Bettie J. Graham Leadership Award for Enhancing DEIA in the Genomics Workforce. 

The award, which was first given last year, was renamed at the end of 2023 in honor of retired director of NHGRI’s Division of Extramural Operations, Bettie Graham, Ph.D., who was a strong advocate for DEIA throughout her career. Dr. Graham was also one of the inaugural recipients of the award, along with Pardis Sabeti, M.D., Ph.D., and Ann Mc Cartney, Ph.D.

The Bettie J. Graham leadership award seeks to celebrate the exceptional efforts of NHGRI grantees and staff members at different career levels. The 2023 award recipients are Shilpa Garg, Ph.D., a senior researcher at the Technical University of Denmark; Nicola Mulder, Ph.D., a professor of computational biology at the University of Cape Town; and Shurjo Sen, Ph.D., a program director in the NHGRI Office of Genomic Data Science.

“My dedication to DEIA in genetics and genomics to help society is a personal mission,” said Dr. Garg. “I believe the potential of genomics can only be realized when it is inclusive, equitable, and accessible to all.”

Dr. Garg’s research has focused on the development of high-quality reference genome sequences, emphasizing the inclusion of historically underrepresented groups and thus enabling a deeper understanding of genetic predispositions across diverse populations. In addition to continuing human genomics studies, some of Dr. Garg’s current research focuses on fungal genomics and sustainability. Additionally, mentorship is a cornerstone of Dr. Garg’s work. She has mentored young scientists from diverse backgrounds, creating courses, workshops, internships, and scholarships for underrepresented groups in genomics and advocating for inclusive research.

Prof. Mulder has also created programs to increase diversity in the genomics workforce by supporting capacity building for genomics research in Africa. “My team and I have developed a genomics and bioinformatics training program to meet the very diverse needs and skills required to implement genomics at scale in Africa,” Prof. Mulder said. “This continent has previously been left behind in the development of genomics, and we have designed novel training approaches to enhance DEIA.”

Prof. Mulder leads the H3ABioNet, a pan-African bioinformatics network, which has trained over 4,500 individuals across Africa in genomics and bioinformatics. Aimed at low- and middle-income countries, the training program has reached underrepresented groups in over 18 countries across Africa. In addition to making the training accessible for non-English speakers, Prof. Mulder’s team designed novel delivery methods of the training materials to increase accessibility for as many participants as possible. This has been especially valuable given the enormous demand in resource-limited settings. Beyond her work with H3ABioNet, Prof. Mulder also focuses on mentoring early-career scientists, especially women in science, and she has been a mentor for two mid-career female scientists.

As an extramural program director at NHGRI, Dr. Sen works to create equitable opportunities for students and early-career researchers from all backgrounds to gain access to education and training in computational genomics and data science. Having spent much of his early career in resource-limited institutions, he believes strongly that creating two-way connections between NHGRI and such institutions is a crucial step in broadening the future genomics workforce.

Dr. Sen manages the Genomic Data Science Community Network, a project that aims to create a dialogue between NHGRI and faculty at small and diverse institutions, as well as the Educational Hub for Computational Genomics and Data Science and its associated Educational Partner Sites. These programs support capacity building at institutions that may not otherwise have the resources to carry out computational genomics research, thus providing new opportunities for students from diverse and historically underrepresented backgrounds.

Apart from Dr. Sen’s work at NHGRI, he also has a leadership role in the NIH Common Fund’s Bridge2AI program, where he is working with a large group of stakeholders and NIH’s AIM-AHEAD program to create training opportunities in biomedical artificial intelligence for researchers, clinicians, and community healthcare workers serving disadvantaged locations throughout the United States.

NHGRI has published its funding policy related to the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, in which NIH received a small cut and NHGRI maintained an overall flat budget. Rather than funding fewer awards, NHGRI will be instituting small “across-the-board” cuts to many of the awards it funds. The institute plans to fund both new competing and non-competing awards at 98% of the requested funds starting in Fiscal Year 2024 and in all subsequent years of these awards. Programmatic reductions may still apply on a case-by-case basis. Reductions will not be made to early-stage investigator awards, small business awards, individual fellowships, institutional training grants, career development awards, or awards supporting conferences and courses. Because NHGRI’s research mission is dynamic, prospective applicants and grantees are encouraged to discuss proposed research ideas with the appropriate NHGRI staff before preparing an application, so as to ensure that submitted applications are responsive to NHGRI’s mission. NHGRI’s funding plans will remain in-line with the institute’s goal of supporting research across all career stages in scientific areas outlined in the 2020 NHGRI Strategic Vision and the NHGRI Building a Diverse Genomics Workforce Action Agenda. 

The Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG) held a meeting this past April to discuss progress and future directions in genomics education for clinicians and other healthcare practitioners. ISCC-PEG consists of over 300 members, including representatives from societies, professional organizations, NIH institutes and centers, and industry, as well as individuals with expertise in healthcare education. The meeting highlighted recent accomplishments of ISCC-PEG, such as the development of 19 new educational resources since 2020 and featured many presentations. The keynote lecture was given by Teri Manolio, M.D., Ph.D., director of NHGRI’s Division of Genomic Medicine, who spoke about strategies for implementing genomic medicine, future goals for population screening for certain genetic conditions, and new opportunities for genomics education from the postbaccalaureate to the faculty-level. The meeting also focused on strategic planning to reach ISCC-PEG’s goals and more, as detailed in the recently published meeting report.

NHGRI Scientific Director Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., was recently selected as a 2023 recipient of the Arthur S. Flemming Award. Dr. Rotimi’s vision for engaging the U.S. and global communities in genomic science and medicine has led to major advances in basic and translational research, particularly focused on areas of genomics relevant to diversity and equity. The award highlights his role in helping lead Genomic Centers of Excellence, which aims to help establish and support a collaborative network of centers across Africa that will generate knowledge and clinical applications and ultimately help reduce global health inequities. Established in 1948 and coordinated by the George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, the award honors outstanding individuals in federal service. Notable past recipients from NIH include Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins. Read more about the Flemming Awards.