The Dowen Lab is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and groups, including those under-represented in higher education and the scientific community. This commitment to diversity and inclusion allows us to:

• Stimulate creativity and innovation in our academic endeavors
• Value multiple ways of thinking and individual styles
• Celebrate our differences and use them to strengthen our science
• Ensure individuals feel supported and invested in the lab mission
• Foster leadership and mentoring that lifts up others

Resources

• UNC Biology Department Diversity and Inclusion Statement
• UNC Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) 
• STEM Pride of the Triangle
• Glossary for Understanding the Dismantling Structural Racism/Promoting Racial Equity Analysis
• Project Implicit – Harvard University
• The Stroop Effect

Dowen Lab Activities

• Jill does “Stress First Aid Training, January 2022.
• Jill does “Preventing Harassment and Discrimination” training from EVERFI, May 2021.
• Audra completes “Managing Bias” training by EVERFI, April 2021.
• Alex is a speaker at the Rosalind Franklin Society meeting “Labs, Leaders, Critical Connections!” session on “How and When to Add Voices”, December 2020.
• Natalie is an organizer for the Inclusivity and Anti-Racism Book Club as part of the Department of Biology’s Diversity and Inclusivity Initiatives
• Alex is founder of Black in Genetics (BIG) movement
• Jill’s Faculty mentoring workshop sponsored by UNC Office of Graduate Education & IMSD
• Jill’s “Understanding Differences” workshop
• Alex’s appointment to IMSD professional development committee
• Alex’s mentorship of a Chancellor’s Science Scholar undergraduate student
• Megan’s Yale Ciencia Initiative Fellowship appointment
• Annual lab meeting on diversity, inclusion, equity, power dynamics and ethical research practices
• Lab participation in NC DNA Day