(A) For R01 applications from 2014 to 2016, the award rate was 10.2% for Black PIs and 18.5% for white PIs (Erosheva et al., 2020).

(B) Metaphoric illustration depicting current NIH funding procedures, which destroy innovation (left) versus those that incorporate a broad NIH equity policy (red ladder) and/or in which individual antiracist reviewers (red) advance applications of Black PIs, to create innovation (right).

(C) Circle areas proportionally represent the amount of funding in the NIH annual budget (gray, $41.68 billion in 2020) versus that needed to achieve racial funding equity (red, $32 million). Our ∼$32 million estimate is derived as follows: The NIH deputy director for extramural research reported 35,085 R01-equivalent applications were submitted in 2019 and average award size of funded applications was $548,390. Of the awards submitted, previous studies have shown that ∼2% of applicants were Black (Erosheva et al., 2020). 10.2% (Black) versus 18.5% (white) award rates (Erosheva et al., 2020) would yield 72 and 130 funded applications, respectively, which is a difference of only 58 funded applications. This R01-equivalent racial funding disparity amounts to ∼2 applications per institute and ∼$32 million in research funding.