GRD717 Spring 2007; 1:15 - 3:40 Fri Bevill 170 Jan 5^th-

Scientific Integrity S.H.Vollmer, Ph.D., Ph.D. 417 HB /vollmer@uab.edu/807-1129

SECTION 1 TOPIC

January 5 PROTECTING SUBJECTS: Ethics in Clinical Research

January 12 no class – Scientific Integrity film production

January 19 AVOIDING MISCONDUCT: Scientific Misconduct; Do Scientists Cheat?

January 26 PROTECTING SUBJECTS: Race as a Research Variable

February 2 RESEARCH INTEGRITY: Mentoring

February 9 FIRST TEST – in class; closed book

February 16 PROTECTING SUBJECTS: PHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee

February 23 RESEARCH INTEGRITY: Authorship and Collaboration

March 2 RESEARCH INTEGRITY: COI and Cooperation; the Gene for Cancer

March 9 AVOIDING MISCONDUCT: Intellectual Property

March 16******************spring break**************************

March 23 PROTECTING SUBJECTS: Power Calculations and Clinical Trials &

SECOND TEST – regulations test

March 30 PROTECTING SUBJECTS: Animal Research

April 6 PROTECTING SUBJECTS: Impact of Research on Communities

April 13 RESEARCH INTEGRITY: Scientific Publishing and Peer Review

April 20 AVOIDING MISCONDUCT: Plagiarism and Record Keeping

May 4 Final

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

36% class presence

14% class participation

15% first test

15% second test

20% final

The increasing power of science to alter the world in which we live has caused those interested in science to suggest that there is a need for more formal training in the ethics and rules that govern the conduct of science.

This course is a response to that need. The course will provide some general guidelines for best practices instituted by universities, journals, and the Federal government – and the rationale behind them. Topics taught include mentoring, authorship, conflict of interest, scientific misconduct, plagiarism, collaboration in science, animal research, and human subjects research guidelines. Where possible, examples in the course are taken from human subjects research.

The course makes extensive use of case studies because they permit the application of knowledge of professional standards, rules and regulations, and individual values to decision-making in specific situations. Case studies help to bring out the idea that the culture and mind-set accompanying different research laboratories may be different and that understanding the culture and mind-set is important in decision-making for success. The goal of the course is to help to equip scientists for maximal success in their endeavors.