Bob Jones High School alum Tiffany Whitlow has been rockin’ and rollin’ in the Huntsville entrepreneur scene for years, but her newest venture might be her most impactful yet.
Whitlow, the co-founder and Chief Development Officer of the #NOWINCLUDED movement by Acclinate, is fired up and ready to help make a positive change in the future of health through the inclusion of all races.
What is Acclinate?
Founded in 2019, Acclinate is a digital health company that is designed to educate and empower others about making educated health decisions regarding clinical trials and genomic research (i.e. looking at the complete set of cells in a gene).
What is the #NOWINCLUDED movement?
Co-founder and CEO Del Smith, PhD says that the #NOWINCLUDED movement encourages others to do three things.
1.) Recognize the health disparities and lack of diversity in clinical trials and genomic research. This can be done by simply saying “Did you know that _____?” and beginning the conversation with someone who has never heard that someone who looks like them wasn’t represented when clinical research was done.
2.) Acknowledge that improvements should be made in these areas. Whitlow says that “we all need to be more educated and engaged in this conversation or certain things will continue to happen.”
3.) Take action to improve the inclusion of People of Color and all races in clinical trials as well as make behavioral changes when it comes to taking charge of your own health. Taking action can begin by simply signing up to receive updates and information from #NOWINCLUDED by Acclinate.
This short video is powerful and explains Acclinate and their mission and vision well.
Smith says that “our focus is on our end goal, and that’s that we want people who are a part of a system to get connected to resources that are advantageous to them.”
{Author note: Both Whitlow and Smith have personal reasons that fuel their passion in this field, and I look forward to sharing more about their stories in a future post, so stay tuned!}
Whitlow is passionate about inclusion and wants to hear from other people who may feel that they were not included in conversations about their health in the past.
“We want to run reports on our own communities, distribute our findings, and then empower people to take control of their health.”
Be a Part of #NOWINCLUDED
Those who are interested can sign up for the #NOWINCLUDED email list, where helpful, useful information will come straight to your inbox. Smith and Whitlow also highly encourage those who are interested to follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
Whitlow says that clinical trials and research for various medicine and treatment plans have often left Black people out of the calculations, and she and Smith are working hard for tests like these to be redesigned.
“Some of these redesigned tests may not only be necessary, but they may very well be detrimental to someone’s health.”
With the COVID-19 vaccine on the forefront of everyone’s minds, Whitlow and Smith are working hard to communicate with many people across the map to ensure that the research is inclusive of all genders, race, etc. and then make sure that People of Color receive accurate, trusted information so that they can make the best decision for themselves. Acclinate has provided a site with COVID-19 vaccine updates and information for those who are interested to follow along.
They strongly believe that knowledge leads to power and encourages everyone to do their research.
Whitlow knows that Acclinate’s mission and purpose will be a “slow burn because there isn’t a short cut.”
“We want to make as many connections as we can,” she shared. “We want people to join our movement who are really fired up to make a change in this kind of research.”
Smith says that something that makes him and Whitlow different is “we aren’t the researchers who are performing these trials. We were the ones who weren’t included in the research, which is why we really care about this now.”
Whitlow says that right now “we’re just in step one, which is recognition.”
If you are interested in more information about #NOWINCLUDED powered by Acclinate, click here to sign up for their email list, and/or you can follow along by liking and engaging on Facebook and Instagram.
To learn more about Acclinate as a whole and read more about Whitlow and Smith and what they’re doing in this space, click here.
This article was written in partnership with Acclinate. Thank you for supporting those who make All Things Madison possible!
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