Straight talk with...Charles Rotimi

When Charles Rotimi moved from his native Nigeria in January 1982 to study public health at the University of Mississippi, he came face to face with a startling problem. In his coursework and daily life, he grappled with the question of why some US groups—in particular African-Americans—suffered overall poorer health than others, such as those of European ancestry. He's now poised to help answer that question as the head of the new Intramural Center for Genomics and Health Disparities, launched in March in Bethesda, Maryland, as part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Charlotte Schubert talked with Rotimi about how perceptions of race influence research and medicine—and how genetics can be used to help break down stereotypes.