The days are growing longer, spring is approaching, and before you can say Research Ethics Roundup, the crocuses will be emerging! Shake off the long winter and dig into some recent news stories on topics related to research ethics and oversight.


PRIM&R reexamined this issue in 2019; read that piece here.
by Ali Hall, Educational Programs Assistant
At a recent discussion at one of PRIM&R’s staff meetings, we took up the issue of how to refer to those who volunteer to participate in research. More specifically, our conversation started with the fact that PRIM&R uses the term “research subject,” rather than the term “research participant.” The significance of this very conscious choice of language had previously managed to escape me, and so I found the ensuing discussion incredibly enlightening.
While research “subject” is the more traditional [...] Read more
by Julie Fine, BS, Legal Specialist, Worldwide Research and Development, Pfizer Inc., La Jolla, California
While the 2013 Advancing Ethical Research (AER) Conference has drawn to a close, PRIM&R is pleased to continue sharing reflections from members of the PRIM&R Blog Squad to provide our readers with an inside peek of the conference.
[...] Read more
Would you participate in your own research? Who Goes First explores self-experimentation
Tags:by Michele Russell-Einhorn, JD, senior director of the Office for Human Research Studies at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Imagine that you are an investigator and you have submitted a research protocol for review by the institutional review board (IRB) at your institution. The research involves a bone marrow biopsy. The approval comes back from the IRB with the following condition: The first subject enrolled in the research must be the investigator.
[...] Read more
by Elisa A. Hurley, PhD, Education Director
The portrayal of research in popular media can offer considerable insight. To reflect on some of the lessons offered, PRIM&R staff have spent the summer reading and watching books, movies, and television shows that have generated conversation and debate around issues related to research ethics. Over the next several weeks, they will share their reflections here, so join us as [...] Read more