UAB has a strong and ongoing commitment to the responsible conduct of research. The UAB campus offers many opportunities for such training including formal courses through graduate school programs and training sponsored on a regular, ongoing basis by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and through the UAB K30 Clinical Research Curriculum Development Award.
Department of
Philosophy Offerings
Principles of Scientific Integrity (GRD 717). Developed by Harold Kincaid, PhD, this course provides systematic instruction about the responsible conduct of science. The three-credit hour course provides a survey of ethical issues and principles in the practice of science. It is offered twice a year (Fall and Spring). Topics include the following: the nature, extent and causes of fraud in science; UAB policies on fraud; ideals of good science; the responsibilities of authorship and peer review; bias and sloppy practices; data recording and data sharing; issues in mentoring and collaborative research; potential problems raised by the commercialization of research and conflict of interest; and ethical issues involved in animal experimentation and in clinical trials. All graduate students and postdoctoral trainees are encouraged to attend, with attendance required of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows supported by NIH training grants.
Annual Ethics Conference. Topics for this one-weekend conference vary from year to year, based on current issues. In the past it has included topics such as clinical research ethics, conflict of interest in research, authorship and publishing, ethically managing data and data access, statistical power and the ethics of data gathering, defining misconduct, and consequences of fraud in bioresearch.
Approved by: Harold Kincaid, PhD, Chair, Department of Philosophy
Date: December 5, 2007
IRB Investigator
Training
All individuals
involved in research on human subjects must complete an initial, approved
training course on human subjects protection and must
update their training annually. There are a number of avenues for fulfilling
the initial training requirement including online opportunities and
seminars. Examples below were compiled
from information on the following websites: UAB
Office of the IRB (OIRB), Collaborative IRB
Training Initiative, Public
Responsibility in Medicine and Research, and the Office for Human Research
Protections. For more information
and a complete list of approved alternatives such as seminars, courses, etc.,
please visit the OIRB website at http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=58146.
The Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI) was founded in
March 2000 as a collaboration between the
The Investigator 101 CD-ROM,
developed by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, is available from
the UAB OIRB. The federal Office for
Human Research Protections distributes the CD-ROM to entities which hold an
approved Department of Health and Human Services Assurance. Divided
into convenient ten-minute modules, the training reviews the history and ethics
of human subject research and the top ten responsibilities of investigators. Upon completion of the program, Boston
University School of Medicine awards CME certificates to physicians licensed to
practice medicine in the
Continuing IRB training involves completion of at least one approved
option between January and December of each year. There are a number of online refresher courses, live local events, live
remote events, and other approved alternatives listed on the OIRB website at http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=58147
.
Source: UAB IRB website (http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=30246)
Date: December 4, 2007
K30 Clinical Research Curriculum Development Award
This program also includes a great deal of information on ethics and the responsible conduct of research. Initially, its 20-hour survey course, The Vocabulary of Clinical Research, has three hours of lectures that include “Ethics in Research” and “The IRB and Oversight of Research.” This is a blended course with lectures available on line. Participants in the survey course may also apply for the K30 Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP), a six-month certificate program. In addition to the survey course lectures, trainees in the CRTP are encouraged to participate in additional lectures regarding the IRB, attend an official IRB meeting, and complete the online IRB training program.
Approved by: Audrey
S. Wrenn, M.A.Ed., K30 CRTP Program Director
Date: December 4, 2007
Click here to return to the SOM
Research Web Site's home page.