February 28 marked the first day of the PRIM&R tenure of Sangeeta Panicker, PhD (also known as Sangy), the organization's first Director of Public Policy. Outgoing Policy Manager Tim Badmington chatted with Sangy over Zoom about the challenges in research ethics that she finds invigorating and her priorities in the new role. Read more
The clinical trial workforce's incredible response to the COVID-19 pandemic has generated some of the most positive media coverage and public acclaim the drug and device research and development industry has ever seen. "We need to harness that public awareness," says Elisa Hurley, PhD, executive director of PRIM&R. Read more
On Tuesday, February 15, Robert Califf, PhD, was confirmed by the US Senate to the position of commissioner of the Food And Drug Administration by a vote of 50-46. Dr. Califf’s nomination and appointment was unusually contentious, as key stakeholders from both major US political parties withheld votes to confirm the prominent cardiologist and clinical trial specialist. In 2017, Dr. Califf gave a keynote address at PRIM&R’s Advancing Ethical Research Conference called “The Continuum from Truth and Knowledge Generation to Opinion to False Information: Do We Have the Right Balance?” Read more
The rollout of testing for sickle cell disease (SCD), implementation of mandatory screening laws, and subsequent stigmatization of African Americans have all had impacts on the Black community’s view of research and testing. For Black History Month, we want to highlight this critical story that most likely helped shape the climate of medical and research mistrust. Read more
This month's Research Ethics Roundup covers two major movements in the Biden administration's science personnel, a new and potentially problematic development in surprise billing for clinical trial information gathering, and the Swiss referendum on animal testing. Read more
While the emails I'm getting from various organizations imply that 2022 will be a return to travel and hotel conference centers, many conferences—including the 2022 PRIM&R Annual Conference—will continue to have a virtual conference option. After a full year of attending virtual conferences, I'd like to reflect on what worked for me and what didn't. Read more
