December 20, 2023

Your electrode isn't racist, but racism is the result.

De-Shaine Murray is working at the cutting edge of neurotechnology. As a postdoctoral fellow at Yale, he is developing a device to monitor the brain following traumatic brain injury or stroke. He is also trying to fight the long legacy of racism in neuroscience. He sees a direct line from racist pseudoscience like phrenology to disparities in neuroscience today, like how the texture of Black people's hair can sometimes exclude them from clinical trials because electrodes are not designed for them. In 2021, he co-founded Black in Neuro, an organization dedicated to improving Black representation in neuroscience.

This week, Torie spoke to De-Shaine about how the past and present racism in neuroscience could be reflected in the future, especially as neurotechnology like brain implants become more common.

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"I'm not saying that whatever electrode that you made or created is racist. But when you have someone who … creates a technology but doesn't think about the wide range of users that are potentially going to use it, then that's where the problem comes in," he said.