Ask the Scholars

Interviews from 2003

Question 12

How are subjects selected for drug studies by race?

When drug studies refer to race, are the subjects chosen by phenotype? Many Black Americans have white and Native American ancestry, yet that fact is often ignored. Doesn't that make the study invalid?

Answers:

Pilar Ossorio

Microbiologist and Bioethicist

This question assumes that there are "pure" black people someplace outside of the US. Also, it assumes that race is all about ancestry. Neither of these assumptions is correct. Black people in the world have a variety of different genotypes and ancestries, as do members of every other racial group. Many white Americans have black and Native American ancestors and many Native Americans have white or black ancestors. Any attempt to designate an ideal or canonical genotype for a race of peo...

Jonathan Marks

Molecular Anthropologist

There's plenty of evidence showing that we were constantly mixing.

Pilar Ossorio

Microbiologist and Bioethicist

In response to the other part of the question, about how subjects are chosen, it depends on the particular research project. Some studies ask where your grandparents were born, for instance. Such studies are really categorizing people according to ancestry, not race. Most studies now, if they're trying to group people by race, rely on recommendations from government agencies. The guidelines suggest that you first ask people a question about ethnicity - are you Hispanic or not Hispanic? -...

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