Research participants who discuss their research participation online may unintentionally disclose information that increases the risks of the research to themselves or others. These risks include unblinding study participants or the research team, communicating incorrect information, or inadvertently licensing participant behaviors that conflict with study requirements, each of which may potentially threaten study integrity and/or participant safety. Read more
This edition of Research Ethics Roundup covers study authors failing to disclose conflict of interest, ethics of COVID-19 human challenge trials, a Moderna trial volunteer objecting to their business practices, and the upcoming vote on the Swiss animal testing ban Read more
Earlier this spring, the Maine Regulatory Training and Ethics Center (MeRTEC) launched the COVID-19 Learning IRB, a free, nonprofit “learning” IRB to review COVID-19 related research. To learn more about this initiative, we interviewed Stephen Rosenfeld, MD, a partner in the initiative and a PRIM&R board member. Read more
Human challenge trials, which deliberately infect subjects with diseases, are sometimes ethically controversial. This piece, originally posted in Undark, reports on the experiences of participants in previous challenge trials, such as for hookworm and malaria. Read more
When I started my research career back in 2004, I was working in the biggest trauma center in the Atlanta area, Grady Healthcare System. I had arrived in the country under a work visa to help with the Department of Orthopaedics' clinical trials. I remember the nervousness of speaking to potential study participants because I was not only new to clinical research, having only done chart review projects in the past, I was also new in America and America’s history of research with minorities. Now, after all these years working as a research coordinator and IRB professional, and living in the United States for more than 15 years, I know how important it is to rebuild trust and increase minority participation in research to ensure not only that we are doing quality studies, but also that we help in diminishing the social injustices our communities still undergo today. Read more
