[Past Event] Ethics of Human Medical Research | Ryan Ranch

Course Description:

Medical research has led to life-saving progress in medical care and public health. However, there have been ethical problems with some research ranging from the misguided if well intentioned to the unspeakably evil. This lecture will review the development of an ethical framework for medical research from the Nazi “medical research” atrocities to the current debates on gene editing. Ethical theory has underpinned our current national system of “Institutional Review Boards” (IRBs) to protect human subjects. Additional challenges to the integrity of research findings come from intentionally fraudulent or fabricated research. The nature of research misconduct will also be reviewed. The principles governing research ethics will be illustrated with case studies.