The beauty of diversity in science, nature, and ARVO
Outgoing ARVO president Hans Grossniklaus talks about the steps ARVO took to create a more equitable research community
The theme for the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting sparked more than a few thought-provoking debates. That's exactly what ARVO23 president, Hans Grossniklaus, MD, MBA intended.
I chose 'The Beauty of Diversity in Science and Nature'' as the theme because it challenges us to remember the advantages of embracing diversity,
said Grossniklaus whose tenure as president of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) ended with the final gavel of the 2023 meeting, April 27.
This theme speaks to the mechanistic diversity in ocular disease, but it also speaks to how we, as vision scientists, are a diverse group with multiple backgrounds and perspectives.
By working with diverse individuals both inside and outside of our scientific community, we can find new innovative ways of approaching our research and advancing the field. The greater the diversity of our components, the stronger our outcomes will be.
Grossniklaus is proud of the ways ARVO delivered on that challenge this year.
It started with his choice of a keynote speaker: Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, PhD, the senior group leader at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus. Her talk, 'Emerging Imaging Technologies to Study Subcellular Architecture, Dynamics, and Function' launched some very productive chatter about using those techniques to study tissue samples from many parts of the body. Including, of course, the eye.
This could be very promising way to incorporate Big Data into the analysis of different eye conditions,
Grossniklaus noted. I will not be surprised to see a funding opportunity coming out of this discussion over the next year.
Lippincott-Schwartz also balanced out what is often a male-dominated named lectureship program at ARVO. Grossniklaus took steps to further diversify the speaking program by establishing a subcommittee that will actively identify and recruit women to fill named lectureships at future ARVO meetings. Next year, for instance, two of the four named lectureships will be reserved for women.
We are never wanting for good lecturers, and this year was no exception,
said Grossniklaus. But we can do better in terms of diversity. And we are setting ourselves up to be successful.
During Grossniklaus's tenure, ARVO also established Setting Your Sights (SYS), a group committed to developing a more diverse cohort of future researchers by forging early and meaningful pathways for under-represented aspirants. That starts with exposure.
Under the auspices of SYS, the 2023 ARVO meeting hosted a delegation of teen scholars from under-resourced high schools in the New Orleans area. Accompanied by their mentors, these teens were given a tour of the ARVO meeting, including poster presentations and an opportunity to talk with ARVO leadership about their research and careers.
If even one of these students decides to join the vision research community, this will be a great investment,
he said.
By far the most ambitious initiative of his one-year ARVO presidency has been the formation of a working group to redefine ARVO's concept of diversity.
We are an international organization, so one thing we found was that an under-represented minority in one country might not be the same in another,
he said. If we are going to support under-represented groups in our field with mentors, with travel grants, and other opportunities, we need to know who they are and what they need.
One of the most critical take-aways from its inaugural work was the need to constantly revisit and revise definitions. The group's work will extend long beyond Grossniklaus's tenure.
The group concluded that they can't identify, definitively, what constitutes an under-represented group. So they decided that individuals who apply to ARVO for recognition as a member of a [new] under-represented group would provide information to support their qualification.
Looking back on the 5-day event, Grossniklaus thinks it checked off a lot of boxes for the 7,000+ researchers in attendance. It also fulfilled a simpler wish that was kicking around in his head for years.
At my first ARVO meeting, 40 years ago, I spent most of my time talking science with a renowned researcher, Gordon K. Klintworth because he was presenting a poster right next to mine. It was fascinating, and he was quite generous,
he said.
This year, I had a poster ['The Role of Macrophages in Vascular Formation in Uveal Melanoma '] and I got a chance to do the same. Talking with new and experienced scientists from all over the world. It was great. And it's really the heart of what ARVO is all about.
-Kathleen E. Moore