CDIB: Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion in Biomedical Research (CDIB²)

Commitment to

Diversity and

Inclusion in

Biomedical Research and Education

CDIB - Committed to cultivating an inclusive environment that fully represents many cultures and backgrounds.

Collaboration, integrity, respect and excellence are shared values of our institution and are the core of what it means to be a UAB community member. And a key foundation at UAB is diversity, equity, and inclusion. At UAB, everybody counts every day. UAB is committed to fostering a diverse, respectful, and inclusive campus environment that values all community members regardless of background and embraces individual differences. UAB values and cultivates equity, diversity, and inclusion in our research, learning, clinical and work environments. Our students, faculty, and staff add diversity to our community through life experiences, perspectives and viewpoints that are enriching for the learning and work environment and are reflective of the students and communities we serve. Because UAB serves a diverse population, ODEI, along with our Heersink School of Medicine initiatives, aims to create an inclusive environment for all UAB faculty, staff, students, and patients through education, training, and awareness programs.

Equality is a core principle in CDIB. We encourage, celebrate and promote diversity and inclusion at all levels. We believe that only through diversity, equity and inclusion will we achieve excellence. Our mission is for all departmental members to feel valued, appreciated, and heard. We strive to prevent any discrimination that is based on ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability status or any other feature that makes us unique. Fostering a safe environment will create a harmonious workspace where we can thrive and promote intellectual curiosity, creativity, innovation and success.  

To fulfill this mission, the CDIB Diversity Committee will (1) develop a mechanism whereby CDIB faculty, staff and trainees can report instances of discrimination they experience first-hand or by observation, (2) assist parties in negotiating actionable recourse as necessary, (3) provide literature, training and counseling resources on our website, and (4) remain current by monitoring societal trends that could impact the wellbeing of our members and act within our power to address them. A list of ‘safe’ faculty/staff will be identified with whom an incident can be discussed without fear of recrimination, and will include all members of the committee listed below.

Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology Graduate Student Experience  
Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology Postdoctoral Experience

Committee Members

Carmel McNicholas-Bevensee, Chair cbevense@uab.edu

Ashley Davis ashleydav@uab.edu

Laura Fraser lfraser@uab.edu

Sasanka Ramanadham sramvem@uab.edu

HaoSheng Sun sunh@uab.edu

Anna Thalacker-Mercer athalack@uab.edu

Bradley Yoder byoder@uab.edu