Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Research (up to 2 pages, excess pages will be discarded)

As detailed in the Outreach & Inclusion of Underserved Populations section, Stanford University and
affiliated hospitals, as well as Dr. Bacchetta and her team have a robust plan for outreach to underserved
communities. IPEX is a rare primary immunodeficiency disease with no limit in its geographic distribution,
thus outreach is key to the success of our research. Our national and international interactions are
absolutely critical in providing us with sufficient patients to achieve the goals of this proposal. As such, our
patients and their families are as culturally diverse as our global reach allows. Dr. Bacchetta has created a
network of national and international collaborators who are dedicated to IPEX studies, as well Primary
Immunodeficiency groups in Europe, South and North America including the United States. All the research
will be done at Stanford, but patients will be obtained from local, national (PIDTC) and international (IEWP-
EBMT and SR-TIGET) collaborators (see letters of support from PIDTC Steering Committee and Dr. Aiuti
who is Deputy Director of Clinical Research at SR-TIGET in Italy). Thus, to be quite clear, diversity in our
patient population is essential.
However, in addition to patient diversity, we adhere to the philosophy that science cannot meet its potential
until the research culture enables and supports contributors from all backgrounds and circumstances and
contributions of all kinds based on the interests, skills, and resources available. Failure to achieve diversity
and inclusion of all stakeholders in science slows progress in discovery and translation of knowledge to
solving humanity’s most pressing problems. We also believe that an inclusive, diversified contribution model
enables ambitious projects that would be unattainable by individuals or small teams working in isolation.
Such a philosophy has enabled us to develop the clinical trial we propose. As such, our continuing mission
is to ensure our team is a diverse group irrespective of race, gender and religion. We maintain an inclusive
environment, and strongly believe that such conditions have driven our success. We constantly work to
foster inclusive team discussions, and invite team members to openly share their perspectives, irrespective
of their formal role in our research. The PI has undergone training in mentoring students from diverse
backgrounds and creating a safe and productive environment for research. We are continuously challenging
ourselves and deepening our own understanding of what diversity, equity and inclusion mean in research
and learning, and are committed to ensuring an inclusive research setting.
Holistically, the School of Medicine is rooted in an inclusive culture of excellence and diversity that values
innovation, collaboration, and life-long learning. As an institution Stanford and the School of Medicine have
implemented numerous initiatives designed to ensure diversity of our teams, and we have embraced many
of these opportunities. Some of these include:
● the Stanford Pediatric Advancing Anti-Racism Coalition (SPAARC) whose mission is to promote a
culture of anti-racism in the Stanford Department of Pediatrics.
● Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access in a Learning Environment (IDEAL), ensuring an inclusive,
accessible, diverse and equitable university for all our community members.
● Health Equity Advanced through Learning (HEAL)-a 4-hour educational workshop offered to all
faculty, staff, and learners in the Department of Pediatrics. The first part of the training provides an
overview of Medical and Structural Racism and the second part focuses on Interpersonal Racism,
Microaggressions, and Allyship. It is the goal of our team that all members will complete this training
by August 2022.
● Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) whose School of Medicine efforts include leading
departmental advance of JEDI and ensuring JEDI in admission, curriculum and teaching.
Of course, while words are important, actions speak louder. As concrete examples of our commitment, we
confirm that several members of our team are first-to-college from their families. We also include numerous
researchers and staff members from traditionally underrepresented groups in health-related research (see
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/). These members are active in several DEI programs and have initiated
DEI educational opportunities within our group including: an antiracism Book Club, and more broadly the
design and launching of an undergraduate and graduate class at Stanford called “Antiracism and Health
Equality” that partners with community leaders to explore issues such as lead exposure and preterm birth
in the Bay Area, the impacts of urban food deserts in Delaware and the amputation epidemic in the
Mississippi Delta. We are exceptionally proud of our diverse workforce and what they offer both us, and the
greater Stanford community.

CLIN2-13259 CLIN 2: Clinical Trial Stage Projects Proposal v.2021.07.28 70

Further, in addition to our patient population, our research team is a mosaic of ethnicities from around the
world, bringing with us cultures and customs that are as diverse as the countries from which we come. We
have all come to the US with common goals, to pursue scientific and medical training within, what is
considered globally to be, the premier scientific research system, and to apply this knowledge to improve
human health. We work within the philosophy that solving challenging problems requires input from a range
of different perspectives.

At the local level, the PI and the team have a targeted goal of hiring additional team members who represent
diverse backgrounds. The management/leadership team provides a vital resource to ensure hiring from
such diverse demographics. If the opportunity arises, the team plans to recruit at least one CIRM Bridges
scholar during this CLIN2 proposal timeframe. The Bridges initiative is an invaluable resource that facilitates
funding for individuals representing the diversity of California’s population, in particular, students who do
not otherwise have opportunities to take part in research focused on regenerative medicine. We are excited
to be able to expose these promising students to our translational research efforts through such funding
opportunities and consider this an excellent model to train young students in the life sciences. Indeed, Dr.
Bacchetta has an outstanding life science research professional who was hired after completing the CIRM
Bridges program in the Bacchetta laboratory. Similarly, we have developed an exciting internship-to-career
program at the Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine (LCGM) in which diversity, equity and inclusion are
central. The LCGM is where the CD4LVFOXP3 is manufactured. Here, we are implementing a cGMP
certification program that will (i) recruit students from local bay area community, state colleges and
universities and (ii) create training and certification opportunities across key functional units (i.e., Process
Development and Manufacturing; Analytical Development and Quality Control; Quality Assurance; Facilities
& Operations) to support overall workforce development in the rapidly expanding cell and gene therapy
industry landscape and in support of Stanford’s facilities. The benefits of the program are numerous: the
growing cell and gene therapy industry is facing workforce shortages alongside high demand for trained
personnel, leading to an extremely competitive recruiting landscape. In addition, our recruitment from
community colleges and local state and private universities will attract students from diverse socioeconomic
and cultural backgrounds, many of whom may not otherwise have the opportunity to engage in such state-
of-the-art clinical research. Thus, LCGM and CTF will contribute to regional workforce development, partner
with neighboring educational institutions, and create a pipeline for career opportunities supporting
Stanford’s educational mission and its efforts towards effecting change in diversity, equity, and inclusion in
medical education. To date, partnering educational institutions include: Community Colleges [Bay Area
Biotech Consortium based at Ohlone College (http://www.calbiotechcareers.org/)], MESA Program, Santa
Clara University, San Jose State University and the University of San Francisco.

The first cohort of interns scheduled to begin in 2022 will consist of 2-3 trainees at LCGM with an aim to
increase to 4-6 by year 2. Within these, 1 traineeship, (2 in year 2) is reserved for applicants from
traditionally underrepresented groups in health-related research.

As a team we subscribe to the philosophy that together we can achieve what each alone cannot.

CLIN2-13259 CLIN 2: Clinical Trial Stage Projects Proposal v.2021.07.28 71