An institute that aims to improve how equality and diversity policies are applied to brain research has launched at University College London. The founders say that although equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) guidelines are now common in research, they do not necessarily lead to scientists applying the values to their studies and work environments in practice.

Many universities, scientific journals and funding agencies have EDI principles, says Aikaterini Fotopoulou, a University College London (UCL) neuropsychologist and leader of the Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences (ERB Centre), which launched on 19 April. “But that’s not the same as knowing how to do equality. Intention is not action.”

Researchers and clinicians at the ERB Centre will study how to best practice EDI in the brain and mind sciences — from increasing the diversity of study participants to ensuring that the field includes scientists from a range of backgrounds and supports them with evidence-based EDI policies throughout their careers.

“EDI are often thought to be issues that can be discussed administratively without, oftentimes, using research backing, so having a research centre dedicated to these issues will be a big leap for the field,” says Mahmoud Maina, a neuroscientist at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK.

Inclusive sampling

Inequalities in sampling and recruiting participants for brain research can ultimately affect diagnosis and treatment, says Fotopoulou. “It is well documented that minority groups have poorer mental- and brain-health outcomes, yet they are systematically under-represented in neuroscientific and mental-health research.”

For example, most studies on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases involve participants of European ancestry. “We cannot extrapolate the data from European participants to African populations,” says Wael Mohamed, a physician–neuroscientist at the International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuantan.

And neuroimaging research, which uses scans to investigate the brain and its diseases, is conducted mostly in men, on the assumption that menstrual cycles make women less reliable research subjects. But research that tests the consistency of findings has shown that studies in women can be more reliable than those in men, says Fotopoulou. Other biases also persist — for instance, research on eating disorders often excludes men. “That under-represents the reality of men in eating disorders, and affects our understanding of pathology, perhaps even the brain mechanisms,” says Fotopoulou.

The centre, which has been funded by an initial annual grant of £100,000 (US$125,000) from UCL, aims to challenge such exclusion and will encourage research on under-represented groups. Its scientists will evaluate current guidelines for inclusive research sampling and create a freely available set of best practices for achieving inclusivity.

“We still have a long way to go,” says Maina, who won a 2022 prize for scientists who have promoted equality in the brain sciences. He adds that the centre will need to establish collaborations with communities that are under-represented in science to address questions related to members’ experiences and to inform policymaking. “These collaborations should be equitable, where the relationship is a win–win and mutually beneficial.”

Research community

The ERB Centre will also look at the publishing industry. One project aims to tackle the gap between intentions and actions when it comes to EDI guidelines at neuroscience, psychology and psychiatry journals. In a 2022 study ¹ , Fotopoulou and her colleagues found that 91% of editors at the top 50 psychology journals were in North America or Europe, and only 30% of editors at the top 50 neuroscience journals were women. “If you have more of the same kind of people in a field, you’re likely to have more of the same kind of science,” says Fotopoulou.

Researchers will collate and evaluate EDI policies in an effort to improve the diversity of editorial boards and of peer reviewers, and will develop training programmes to help editors to produce inclusive and diverse content .

Some projects will examine equality policies at universities. One study is exploring whether gender, ethnicity and age have affected how UCL staff experience work-related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether policies designed to support staff well-being are effective for all groups.

And three psychologists are studying how neurodivergent students at UCL engage with teaching approaches that blend online and in-person learning, with the aim of improving guidelines for inclusive practices.

In future, researchers at the ERB Centre also hope to improve university equity schemes — such as fellowships aimed at candidates from diverse backgrounds, and general diversity training — by tracking over time whether such programmes are effective for all groups.

The centre provides an opportunity to “address some systemic challenges that brain scientists across the globe have been struggling with at the institutional level”, says Rachael Dangarembizi, a neurobiologist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

article_text: An institute that aims to improve how equality and diversity policies are applied to brain research has launched at University College London. The founders say that although equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) guidelines are now common in research, they do not necessarily lead to scientists applying the values to their studies and work environments in practice. Many universities, scientific journals and funding agencies have EDI principles, says Aikaterini Fotopoulou, a University College London (UCL) neuropsychologist and leader of the Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences (ERB Centre), which launched on 19 April. “But that’s not the same as knowing how to do equality. Intention is not action.” Researchers and clinicians at the ERB Centre will study how to best practice EDI in the brain and mind sciences — from increasing the diversity of study participants to ensuring that the field includes scientists from a range of backgrounds and supports them with evidence-based EDI policies throughout their careers. “EDI are often thought to be issues that can be discussed administratively without, oftentimes, using research backing, so having a research centre dedicated to these issues will be a big leap for the field,” says Mahmoud Maina, a neuroscientist at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. Inequalities in sampling and recruiting participants for brain research can ultimately affect diagnosis and treatment, says Fotopoulou. “It is well documented that minority groups have poorer mental- and brain-health outcomes, yet they are systematically under-represented in neuroscientific and mental-health research.” For example, most studies on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases involve participants of European ancestry. “We cannot extrapolate the data from European participants to African populations,” says Wael Mohamed, a physician–neuroscientist at the International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuantan. And neuroimaging research, which uses scans to investigate the brain and its diseases, is conducted mostly in men, on the assumption that menstrual cycles make women less reliable research subjects. But research that tests the consistency of findings has shown that studies in women can be more reliable than those in men, says Fotopoulou. Other biases also persist — for instance, research on eating disorders often excludes men. “That under-represents the reality of men in eating disorders, and affects our understanding of pathology, perhaps even the brain mechanisms,” says Fotopoulou. The centre, which has been funded by an initial annual grant of £100,000 (US$125,000) from UCL, aims to challenge such exclusion and will encourage research on under-represented groups. Its scientists will evaluate current guidelines for inclusive research sampling and create a freely available set of best practices for achieving inclusivity. “We still have a long way to go,” says Maina, who won a 2022 prize for scientists who have promoted equality in the brain sciences. He adds that the centre will need to establish collaborations with communities that are under-represented in science to address questions related to members’ experiences and to inform policymaking. “These collaborations should be equitable, where the relationship is a win–win and mutually beneficial.” The ERB Centre will also look at the publishing industry. One project aims to tackle the gap between intentions and actions when it comes to EDI guidelines at neuroscience, psychology and psychiatry journals. In a 2022 study1, Fotopoulou and her colleagues found that 91% of editors at the top 50 psychology journals were in North America or Europe, and only 30% of editors at the top 50 neuroscience journals were women. “If you have more of the same kind of people in a field, you’re likely to have more of the same kind of science,” says Fotopoulou. Researchers will collate and evaluate EDI policies in an effort to improve the diversity of editorial boards and of peer reviewers, and will develop training programmes to help editors to produce inclusive and diverse content. Some projects will examine equality policies at universities. One study is exploring whether gender, ethnicity and age have affected how UCL staff experience work-related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether policies designed to support staff well-being are effective for all groups. And three psychologists are studying how neurodivergent students at UCL engage with teaching approaches that blend online and in-person learning, with the aim of improving guidelines for inclusive practices. In future, researchers at the ERB Centre also hope to improve university equity schemes — such as fellowships aimed at candidates from diverse backgrounds, and general diversity training — by tracking over time whether such programmes are effective for all groups. The centre provides an opportunity to “address some systemic challenges that brain scientists across the globe have been struggling with at the institutional level”, says Rachael Dangarembizi, a neurobiologist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. vocabulary:

{'Equity': '平等，指的是每个人都应该享有同等的权利和机会，而不受任何形式的歧视', 'Diversity': '多样性，指的是不同群体之间的差异，包括性别、种族、宗教、文化、社会经济地位、性取向和残疾等', 'Inclusion': '包容，指的是把所有人都纳入社会的过程，使他们能够参与社会活动，并享有同等的权利和机会', 'Neuropsychologist': '神经心理学家，是一种专门研究大脑和行为之间关系的医学专家', 'Neuroscientist': '神经科学家，是一种研究大脑和神经系统的科学家', 'Neuroimaging': '神经成像，是一种使用扫描技术来检测大脑活动的技术', 'Extrapolate': '外推，指的是从已知的数据中推断出未知的数据', 'Pathology': '病理学，指的是研究疾病的发生、发展和结果的学科', 'Menstrual': '月经，指的是女性每月发生的生理现象', 'Consistency': '一致性，指的是结果或行为的一致性', 'Extant': '现存的，指的是现存的事物', 'Collate': '整理，指的是把相关的信息整理在一起', 'Evaluate': '评估，指的是对某种情况或结果进行客观评估', 'Neurodivergent': '神经多元，指的是指大脑发育的不同方式', 'Blend': '混合，指的是把不同的元素混合在一起', 'Equitable': '公平的，指的是在某种情况下，每个人都应该得到公平的对待', 'Mutually': '相互地，指的是双方都受益的情况', 'Systemic': '系统的，指的是涉及整个系统的问题', 'Collaborations': '合作，指的是两个或多个组织之间的合作关系', 'Extrapolation': '外推，指的是从已知的数据中推断出未知的数据', 'Editorial': '编辑，指的是编辑部门的工作', 'Peer': '同行，指的是在同一领域的专家', 'Fellowships': '奖学金，指的是为特定的学生提供的经济支持'} readguide:

{'reading_guide': '近日，伦敦大学学院（UCL）推出了一个旨在改善大脑研究中平等与多样性政策应用的研究所。研究所的创始人表示，尽管研究中现在普遍存在平等、多样性和包容（EDI）准则，但这些准则并不一定会导致科学家将这些价值观应用于他们的研究和工作环境中。ERB中心的研究人员和临床医生将研究如何最好地在大脑和心理科学中实施EDI，从增加研究参与者的多样性到确保该领域包括来自不同背景的科学家，并在他们的职业生涯中支持以证据为基础的EDI政策。研究所旨在挑战这种排斥，并鼓励对未被充分代表的群体进行研究。该中心将收集和评估当前具有包容性的研究取样指南，并创建一套可免费使用的实现包容性的最佳实践。} long_sentences:

{'sentence 1': 'Many universities, scientific journals and funding agencies have EDI principles, says Aikaterini Fotopoulou, a University College London (UCL) neuropsychologist and leader of the Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences (ERB Centre), which launched on 19 April.', 'sentence 2': 'In future, researchers at the ERB Centre also hope to improve university equity schemes — such as fellowships aimed at candidates from diverse backgrounds, and general diversity training — by tracking over time whether such programmes are effective for all groups.'}

Sentence 1: 许多大学、科学期刊和资助机构都有平等、多样性和包容（EDI）原则，伦敦大学学院（UCL）神经心理学家、大脑科学平等研究中心（ERB中心）负责人Aikaterini Fotopoulou表示，该中心于4月19日揭牌。句子结构分析：这是一个复合句，主句是“许多大学、科学期刊和资助机构都有平等、多样性和包容（EDI）原则”，其中“许多大学、科学期刊和资助机构”是主语，“有平等、多样性和包容（EDI）原则”是谓语，而“says Aikaterini Fotopoulou, a University College London (UCL) neuropsychologist and leader of the Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences (ERB Centre), which launched on 19 April”是定语从句，修饰“许多大学、科学期刊和资助机构”。语义分析：句子表达的意思是，许多大学、科学期刊和资助机构都有平等、多样性和包容（EDI）原则，这是由伦敦大学学院（UCL）神经心理学家、大脑科学平等研究中心（ERB中心）负责人Aikaterini Fotopoulou在4月19日揭牌时宣布的。

Sentence 2: 将来，ERB中心的研究人员还希望改善大学的平等计划，比如针对不同背景的候选人的奖学金，以及通用的多元化培训，通过跟踪长期内这些计划是否对所有群体都有效来实现这一目标。句子结构分析：这是一个复合句，主句是“將来，ERB中心的研究人员还希望改善大学的平等计划”，其中“ERB中心的研究人员”是主语，“希望改善大学的平等计划”是谓语，而“比如针对不同背景的候选人的奖学金，以及通用的多元化培训，通过跟踪长期内这些计划是否对所有群体都有效来实现这一目标”是定语从句，修饰“大学的平等计划”。语义分析：句子表达的意思是，ERB中心的研究人员希望改善大学的平等计划，比如针对不同背景的候选人的奖学金，以及通用的多元化培训，通过跟踪长期内这些计划是否对所有群体都有效来实现这一目标。