The writer is chair of Technology Academy Finland, which awards the Millennium Technology Prize
One of the most shocking discoveries about Covid-19 has been its disproportionate impact on black, Asian and other ethnic minority people compared with whites. The extended lockdown in Britain’s Leicester, where significant levels of such communities are believed to be at high risk, only amplifies these findings.
But just as scandalous is that black scientists are unlikely to be given the chance to lead research into why Bame communities are more affected by the disease. That’s because science has long shown a bias against such researchers and the topics they propose to study, such as local interventions or health inequalities.