EQUITY

 

Diverse experiences and perspectives are integral for scientific excellence.

Within our lab, we welcome all willing participants – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, beliefs, or socioeconomic or cultural background. We are committed to equitable hiring practices. When opportunities for hiring are not available, we are committed to pursuing alternate funding mechanisms such as NIH Diversity Supplements to create opportunities for candidates from underrepresented groups.

Our lab works to foster a climate of inclusion. We are committed to self-learning and confronting our own biases. We believe in mentoring beyond hierarchies and that all voices (high school student to faculty) should be centered. We also believe that mentors can be anyone, and that we benefit from each other’s support through encouragement, accountability, role modeling, problem solving, community, and honest feedback.

Our lab participates in activities that support equity and inclusion at the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty levels. Dr. Kwon is the former co-chair of the UW Faculty Council for Race, Equity and Justice (FCREJ), an advisory body for university policy responsible for all matters of policy relating to the interests of faculty of color.

Outside of UW, Dr. Kwon is a member of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and participates in their 1on1 mentoring program. He is also a member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) DEI Committee and represents the ASBMR on the DEAI Committee for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).

In 2022, the NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (OSWD) office along with participating NIH units funded grant supplements that recognized excellence in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) mentorship. These institutional awards support principal investigators who are outstanding mentors and who have demonstrated compelling commitments and contributions to enhancing DEIA in the biomedical sciences. The MSBL was an initial recipient, receiving a $431,765 award from NIAMS and one of only three recipients in the state of Washington.

In 2023, Dr. Kwon was a recipient of the UW Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award and UW CMFA Minority Faculty Mentoring Award.