On Oct. 17, 2025, Professor Andrea Deyrup, MD, PhD, spoke on the topic of race in medicine to a packed auditorium composed of around 200 undergraduate students at the Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC). The talk was part of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Fall Colloquium Series, which focuses on the interface between science, technology and society.
She was invited by Associate Dean Burcak Ozludil, who had heard Deyrup’s interview on NPR’s Code Switch podcast episode titled “How Race Science Shows up at the Doctor’s Office.” The audience included students from all disciplines throughout the college, such as computer science, mechanical engineering, and biological sciences.
“These undergraduate students were really surprised and dismayed to learn the extent to which medicine is racialized,” said Deyrup. “Since the talk, I’ve had numerous students reach out to learn more and, more importantly, to discover how they can effect change themselves at the local or regional level,” Deyrup said.
The ADHC offers a multidisciplinary education focused on service, research, and leadership. The colloquium was offered in tandem with the College’s Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts, Medical Humanities, and Women with Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture, and Mathematics (WWS STEAM) Colloquiums. WWS STEAM is the College’s initiative to engage, empower, and encourage Dorman Scholars who identify as women and non-binary students who are pursuing academic careers at NJIT in STEAM disciplines.
Deyrup is a nationally-renowned speaker on the topic of race in medicine. A large focus of her work has been to examine the questionable science that supports race-based associations in medical texts and board exams. After finding that the data were often inaccurate and misinterpreted, she has been building connections through presentations and a popular video series to end racialized medicine. Read more and watch a video about Deyrup’s work here.