RESONATE: A Discussion on Social Biases Within ISMRM
Member-Initiated Symposium

ORGANIZERS: Udunna Anazodo, Esther Warnert

Wednesday, 20 June 2018

Session Number: MIS-17

Overview
“There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is being superior to your previous self” - W. L. Sheldon (Ethical Addresses 1897). 

Science undeniably evolves through collaboration, transparency and inclusiveness. When unconscious stereotypes based on culture, personal experiences or institutional influences inform our understanding, actions and decisions, this effect, implicit bias, threatens the intrinsic worth of the scientific method and minimizes progress in science. Implicit biases, including social – race, gender, institution (reputation, size, location, etc.), years of experience, or scientific – publication, replication, and industry, influence how research questions are formulated, how peer review processes are conducted, and the nature of collaboration among scientists. Ignoring implicit biases, which by nature are malleable, risks the “reproduction of status quo and patterns of decisions that profoundly constrain diversity and inclusiveness” (kirwaninstitute.osu.edu). Because the magnitude of implicit biases vary widely across fields, and because “there may be no one-size fits-all solution that can rid science efficiently of even the most common forms of bias” (Fanelli et al., PNAS 2017), open discussions on social and scientific bias within ISMRM are inevitable. Here, we propose an inaugural community-wide action-driven symposium aimed at fostering ongoing dialogue on ways to mitigate bias and increase inclusiveness in ISMRM.

Target Audience
Because this session is designed as a town-hall meeting for all ISMRM members, attendance is open to all ISMRM attendees including exhibitors.

Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
- Define the general concept of implicit (social and scientific) bias as it pertains to conducting scientific research in field of medical imaging;
- Recognize the need to explore social and scientific bias within ISMRM as a community; and
- Identify the aims of RESONATE, a community-wide action-driven initiative to combat implicit bias within ISMRM.