Claudia R. Baquet, MD, MPH, PhD

Claudia R. Baquet, MD, MPH, PhD, is an Affiliate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, the founder of the Hope Institute, and a member of the PATIENTS Program. In 2022, Dr. Baquet received funding from the FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) to support a project titled, “COMmunity Mistrust and Institutional Trustworthiness to Advance Health EQuity Research” (COMMIT-EQ), which is part of the PATIENTS Program at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP). COMMIT-EQ examines trust and trustworthiness related to science, research communication, community-academic research partnerships and key ethical considerations for research from a community perspective. This research is informed by Dr. Baquet’s previous FDA-funded research on demographic needs, geographic factors and data analyses associated with underrepresentation of rural and diverse communities in clinical trials.

Research has shown that distrust and mistrust in science and public health increased in communities most affected by COVID-19 at various times during the pandemic. Despite hesitancy, African American/Black communities and other racial and ethnic groups who are underrepresented in clinical trials are very interested in participating in clinical trials. This is true, especially when the researchers are transparent and provide full disclosure about the risks and benefits during the informed consent process and if the research is viewed as ethical by community members.  Through the COMMIT-EQ program, Dr. Banquet (and her team) intend to collaborate with faith-based and community partners in West Baltimore to improve the inclusion of African American and other diverse populations in COVID-19, variant, and clinical trial research.

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