IRBs come in many types, focusing on dramatically different categories of research from Phase I drug research to studies focused solely on education and social science. It may seem at first that the latter entails simpler ethical problems than, say, multisyllabic first-in-human drug trials for cancer, but very low-risk nonmedical research presents its own challenges for the IRB. Read more
By Anne Meade, senior manager for website and social media
Not that long ago, genome sequencing was something most people did not have as an option available to them. Fast-forward 13 years later from when the human genome was first sequenced for $3 billion, and companies have announced that that they have machines available that "can sequence the genetic code of a human cell for $1,000." As genome sequencing has become more affordable and accessible, an ethical challenge becomes helping people interpret what their results mean to them, their health, and [...] Read more
by David R. Van Houten, MS, research integrity advocate
During PRIM&R’s Best Practices for Assessing Risk in Social and Behavioral Research webinar, Jeffrey M. Cohen, PhD, CIP, CEO of HRP Consulting Group, Inc., discussed challenges for institutional review boards (IRBs) charged with reviewing social and behavioral research.
While human research protections is complicated across all areas of research, the presentation served to illuminate the complexities associated with protecting human subjects in social and behavioral studies. In his presentation, Dr. Cohen pointed out that IRB [...] Read more
