Davies challenges researchers to justify ‘excluding’ genomics

England’s chief medical officer Sally Davies wants medical research funders to require applicants to justify any decision to exclude genomics in their applications.

No further details on the new requirement on researchers have been provided. It was included in the chief medical officer’s annual report Generation Genome, published on 4 July. However, the intention seems to be to make genomic analysis a mainstream technique across all of health research, and not just a minority interest.

The instruction carries echoes of Davies’ earlier decision to make Athena Swan accreditation a condition of grants from the National Institute for Health Research–a move that has helped to make diversity more of a priority for university departments.