Although humans share 99.9% of their genome, the visible trait of skin color has driven oppression for centuries, which manifests today in disparities of pay, wealth, housing, education, incarceration, and health. Structural racism and implicit bias remains deeply rooted in our country, affecting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Medical institutions have not been immune to these problems. Though uncomfortable, we admit our own program still faces these challenges, often in ways that we have not realized, indicating that our prior efforts to address these issues were insufficient. For these reasons, we hereby pledge to re-dedicate our efforts and institute plans to achieve our overall goal of diagnosing and eliminating inequities affecting all BIPOC, in our program and medical scientist community.
-Dr. Wayne Yokoyama, MD, Program Director