Author
By Suzanne M. Rivera, Ph.D. In August of 2011, the Public Health Service updated its rules to address the kind of financial conflicts of interests that can undermine (or appear to undermine) integrity in research. …
By Suzanne M. Rivera Federal regulations and ethical principles require that Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) consider the anticipated risks of a proposed human research study in light of any potential benefits (for subjects or others)…
By Suzanne M. Rivera, Ph.D. By now, many people have seen a still photo or video footage of Rep. Paul Broun (R-Georgia), standing in front of a wall full of deer heads, proclaiming that evolution,…
by Suzanne M. Rivera, Ph.D. The Presidential debate on Wednesday was fascinating theater. Much of the post-debate commentary in social media has focused on Mitt Romney’s threat to cut federal funding to PBS as a…
by Suzanne M. Rivera, PhD For a variety of reasons, racial and ethnic minorities in the US do not participate in clinical research in numbers proportionate to their representation in the population. Although legitimate mistrust by…
by Suzanne M. Rivera, Ph.D. One of the peculiar legacies of unethical human experimentation is an impulse to protect people from perceived research risks, even when that means interfering with the ability of potential participants to…
By Suzanne M. Rivera, Ph.D. Of all the protections provided in the Common Rule to safeguard the rights and welfare of research participants, there’s one glaring omission: treatment of study-related injuries. Our current regulatory apparatus…
by Suzanne M. Rivera, Ph.D. For legitimate reasons, the human research enterprise frequently is regarded with suspicion. Despite numerous rules in place to protect research participants’ rights and welfare, there is a perception that research…
