An ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will assess the current use of the social constructs of race and ethnicity in biomedical research and provide recommendations to guide the scientific community in the future use of race and ethnicity in biomedical research.
More specifically, the committee will:

• Document and evaluate how racialized group and ethnic categories are currently being used in biomedical research (e.g., as a descriptor, to stratify data, to apply race norming, to infer differences between groups due to environmental and social impacts), including describing consequences and contributions to health inequities in current clinical practices;
• Identify the circumstances in which it is appropriate to use the social constructs of race and ethnicity in biomedical research, for example in studying the health effects of racism, and the circumstances in which race and ethnicity should not be used to inform inferences;
• Review existing guidance for researchers on the use of race as a variable in biomedical research.

Based on its review of the literature and other expert input, the committee will develop a report with its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for entities such as researchers, funders, publishers, scientific and medical societies, health systems, and industry regarding:

• The use of race and ethnicity in biomedical research, including identifying current practices that should be continued, stopped, or modified;
• Policy changes to reform the use of race and ethnicity in biomedical research, with specific attention to the practice of race norming or race correction;
• Implementation strategies to help enhance the adoption of best practices across the biomedical research community.

The committee’s work will focus on the use of racialized group and ethnic categories across the spectrum of biomedical research, including the development of clinical prediction models and other clinical decision tools. Related topics in the provision of clinical care, such as inequitable access to health care and racism in care delivery, are beyond the scope of this study.