A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize and conduct a series of approximately three virtual public workshops to examine health disparities in central nervous system (CNS) disorders; further understand the underlying causal factors when race and ethnicity are used as proxy measures; and discuss open research questions, policy implications, and opportunities to move the field forward in an ethical matter.

The workshop series will feature invited presentations and discussions that will:

• Review the current state of knowledge regarding health disparities in CNS disorders and the evidence needed to address gaps in understanding, including in areas that are undervalued/neglected as a reflection of the current makeup of the neuroscience research workforce.
• Explore available evidence on the impact of psychosocial and environmental factors (e.g., exposure to environmental toxins, racism, and discrimination) on CNS disorders and how they contribute to health disparities.
• Consider models of research approaches and other models designed to enable better inclusion of underrepresented and excluded populations throughout the entire research and development trajectory for CNS disorders to generate more robust, generalizable, and equitable findings; highlight case studies and available evidence of their effectiveness.
• Explore potential multidisciplinary collaborations - for example among basic mechanistic science, cognitive neuropsychology, epidemiology, and technology development - to further elucidate these topics and rigorously combine methods in their respective fields.

These virtual workshops will engage a wide range of perspectives to include persons with lived experience; individuals from community advocacy organizations and faith-based groups engaged in research; scientists in academia, industry, and the non-profit sector; ethicists; research funders and policymakers; and other interested stakeholders.

The planning committee will develop the agenda for the workshops, select and invite speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions. Following each workshop, a proceedings-in-brief capturing the presentations and discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.