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Description: Integrity in life sciences research is publicly called into question most often when a spectacular case of fraud appears in the news cycle. Most academic scientists believe that serious instances of misconduct are rare and represent the actions of a few bad actors. While this intuition may or may not be accurate, its overemphasis serves to draw attention away from a host of “environmental factors” within traditional academic medical research that are worth closer examination – especially at the student/trainee/junior investigator stage. This course is meant to provide an opportunity to openly and critically reflect with your peers and others about what responsibility and integrity should mean to the professional scientific community. It is purposefully not a list of "dos and don'ts". To that end, you will be expected to have done the readings prior to class and you will be expected to participate in discussion.
Facilitators:
Jennifer Ryan, JD, Executive Director, Office of Academic & Research Integrity
Gretchen Brodnicki, JD, Dean for Academic Integrity, Office of Academic & Research Integrity
Dan Wainstock, PhD, Associate Director for Research Integrity, Office of Academic & Research Integrity
Upcoming Sessions (registrations coming soon)
April 10 - Peer Review
May 8 - Conflicts of Interest
May 29 - Collaborative Research
The NIH requires anyone sponsored by a training grant, either currently or in the future, to complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. At HMS and HSDM, it is mandatory for all postdoctoral fellows to attend regardless of funding source. You must enroll in the course conducted by the Center for Bioethics within Harvard Medical School. We recognize most trainees will have an occasional scheduling conflict, and accordingly, you have up to 2 years to complete the coursework.
If you are not sure if you’ve already attended these sessions, email rcr@hms.harvard.edu with your name, HMS email, and HMS department so we can check your record and let you know. If you can demonstrate completion of RCR training in the past 3 years (via a certificate), you may be relieved from fulfilling this requirement. For more information visit bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/rcr-responsible-conduct-research.
