Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR): Conflicts of Interest (3.6.24)

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SESSION DESCRIPTION: Today, no topic in a course on the responsible conduct of research seems as controversial as conflicts of interest. As a starting point, ask yourself: why is the issue so contentious? Why are opinions so strongly held? From the perspective of ethics: what human values are at stake? Our approach in this section, as in all others, is not to presuppose “right” answers. Rather, we expect you to approach this subject with the same intellectual honesty and rigor you would approach a scientific or clinical question.

 You have a little more reading to do in this section. The reason for this is because in the sea of professional opinion that exists about conflicts of interest and science, it is important to canvass all angles – we hope that whatever opinion you end up holding is based on a modicum of evidence and not just anecdotal experience or personal intuition.

Please contact rcr@hms.harvard.edu with any questions.

Sponsored by the HMS Center for Bioethics and Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Course Directors: Sadath A. Sayeed JD, MD and James Gould, PhD