Focus on LGBT groups in scientific research workers

Justin Trotter, a postdoctoral professor of neurobiology at Stanford University, used to be a good boy: handsome, top-notch, and began working at the university's lab at the age of 14. However, he has been fighting the inner secret - from the age of 11, 12 years old, he began to feel like boys. But because of his education have told him that homosexuality is shameful, so from the teens to the twenties of this time, he has been hidden from their sexual orientation, and behave very masculine, is to Into everyone.

However, to the undergraduate, he began to feel tired, depressed and panic. Until his last two years at the University of South Florida graduate study, finally to several friends to open his sexual orientation. As more and more people know the news, he feels depressed, energy is improved, and the spirit of work is more focused. He said: "When I feel that I can completely do their own time, the research is certainly beneficial."

This information is conveyed to many of the world's laboratories and research institutes. Including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, have been discriminated against or even more horrifying. They are still regarded as heterogeneous or even criminals in most Muslim countries, in Russia and in some parts of Asia. But people's minds are changing, and public gay men have higher public acceptance in Western Europe, Australia, Canada and Latin America, according to a survey released last year by the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project , And the biggest change to the United States. In this country with the largest research career in the world, public change to LGBT attitudes is faster than any other country. A state in a state, in the face of intense resistance to the conservative elements, the courts and the legislature began to liberalize restrictions on same-sex marriage, and LGBT population equality has become an important issue of civil rights. This week, published in the "Nature" (Nature) and "Scientific American" (Scientific American) on a series of articles on the diversity of scientific research, will focus on the research circle, such as Troy this LGBT groups Body.

The inside of the LGBT community has also become more united. Originally, as long as the heterosexuality belongs to LGBT, the group is also torn apart - white gay men-oriented, lesbians, bisexuals and ethnic minorities are each felt marginalized. And until the past five years, transgender people are gradually being noticed.

However, the younger generation is more concerned about the integration of the problem. Openness and solidarity make it easier for young scientists to find mentors and examples, but research institutions can do better. For example, the US Natural Science Foundation has information on ethnic minorities and disability in US researchers, but does not investigate their sexual orientation, nor is there a systematic, large-scale study of the social environment in which LGBT scientists are located The Erin Cech from Rice University hopes to conduct a survey involving 2,000-3000 LGBT scientists and engineers, but has not yet received financial support.

"Without such data, funding agencies will not be able to understand whether LGBT people are being overlooked in the field of research, whether they need more support programs and advice, and whether they need to be the same as for women and minority groups for young LGBT scientists We set up special bonuses, but we did not have the data, which made us feel disappointed as a scientist.