•  69
    Using electronic discussion boards to teach responsible conduct of research
    Science and Engineering Ethics 11 (4): 617-630. 2005.
    This study presents the results of a survey of student satisfaction with electronic discussion boards in a course on the responsible conduct of research (RCR). On a 1–5 scale, the respondents stated that the use of the electronic discussion board was an effective teaching tool (4.71), that it enabled them to get feedback from their peers (4.43), that it helped promote discussion and debate (4.36), that it helped them learn how to analyze ethical dilemmas in research (4.36), and that they would c…Read more
  •  15
    Moral Distress in Scientific Research
    American Journal of Bioethics 16 (12): 13-15. 2016.
    In their target article “A Broader Understanding of Moral Distress,” Campbell, Ulrich, and Grady (2016) argue that the widely accepted definition of moral distress should be broadened to include so...
  •  7
    Reviews in Health Law: Patenting Technology Instead of Identity
    Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 32 (3): 524-527. 2004.
  •  14
    Conflicts of Interest in Scientific Research Related to Regulation or Litigation
    Journal of Philosophy, Science and Law 7 1-16. 2007.
    This article examines conflicts of interest in the context of scientific research related to regulation or litigation. The article defines conflicts of interest, considers how conflicts of interest can impact research, and discusses different strategies for dealing with conflicts of interest. While it is not realistic to expect that scientific research related to regulation or litigation will ever be free from conflicts of interest, society should consider taking some practical steps to minimize…Read more
  •  10
    The Misregulation of Research?
    Hastings Center Report 45 (6): 49-50. 2015.
    Very few people who read Carl Schneider's The Censor's Hand: The Misregulation of Human-Subject Research will have a neutral opinion of his book. Schneider defends the radical thesis that the system of regulating human subjects research is not just broken but deeply misguided and therefore needs to be abolished. While some researchers who are frustrated with the current regime will welcome Schneider's scathing critiques of institutional review boards and the regulations they enforce, those who v…Read more
  •  12
    Hidden Sources of Private Industry Funding
    American Journal of Bioethics 8 (8): 60-61. 2008.
  •  27
    Setting Biomedical Research Priorities: Justice, Science, and Public Participation
    Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 11 (2): 181-204. 2001.
    This paper addresses the appropriate role for public input into priority setting for federal funding of biomedical research and development. The public should be involved in priority setting because researchers should be publicly accountable, because the public has a right to oversee government activities, and because public input is needed to assess normative questions related to the burden of disease and health care needs. On the other hand, political factors arising from public input can also…Read more
  • Questionable Research Practices Compel Subjects to Join Studies
    IRB: Ethics & Human Research 30 (29). 2007.
    What the Doctor Didn’t Say: The Hidden Truth About Medical Research, by Jerry Menikoff , is an insightful, clear, and engaging overview of some of the ethical and legal challenges of clinical research. The book contains thoughtful discussions of legal protections for research subjects, medical malpractice law, informed consent, pediatric research, emergency research, research on decisionally incapacitated adults, payment to research subjects, and other important topics. It also makes a number of…Read more
  •  16
    Coercion and the SATURN Study
    American Journal of Bioethics 4 (1): 38-40. 2004.
    No abstract
  •  27
    The Concept of Disability in Bioethics: Theoretical and Clinical Issues
    American Journal of Bioethics 1 (3): 46-48. 2001.
  •  14
    Genomic research data: open vs. restricted access
    IRB: Ethics & Human Research 32 (1): 1. 2010.
    Openness is one of science’s fundamental ethical norms, but it should not take precedence over the obligation to protect the confidentiality of data. Deidentifying the data obtained from human genomic research as a condition of providing open access to research data is a strategy to promote scientific openness while protecting research participants’ confidentiality interests. However, given recent advances in methods of reidentifying individuals whose deidentified data are in genomic databases, …Read more
  •  35
    Bisphenol A and Risk Management Ethics
    Bioethics 29 (3): 182-189. 2014.
    It is widely recognized that endocrine disrupting compounds, such as Bisphenol A, pose challenges for traditional paradigms in toxicology, insofar as these substances appear to have a wider range of low-dose effects than previously recognized. These compounds also pose challenges for ethics and policymaking. When a chemical does not have significant low-dose effects, regulators can allow it to be introduced into commerce or the environment, provided that procedures and rules are in place to keep…Read more
  •  80
    Sex biases in subject selection: A survey of articles published in american medical journals
    Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 20 (3): 245-260. 1999.
    This study discusses the results of a survey of 1,800 articles published in American medical journals from 1985--1996. The study finds 9% of these articles reported research that uses only male subjects to examine medical conditions that affect both sexes; the ratio of research on female to male conditions among these articles was greater than 5:1; but 76.5% of the articles reported research that includes both male and female subjects. The study also discusses evidence that sex biases against wo…Read more
  •  63
    Ensuring the Quality, Fairness, and Integrity of Journal Peer Review: A Possible Role of Editors
    with Susan A. Elmore
    Science and Engineering Ethics 22 (1): 169-188. 2016.
    A growing body of literature has identified potential problems that can compromise the quality, fairness, and integrity of journal peer review, including inadequate review, inconsistent reviewer reports, reviewer biases, and ethical transgressions by reviewers. We examine the evidence concerning these problems and discuss proposed reforms, including double-blind and open review. Regardless of the outcome of additional research or attempts at reforming the system, it is clear that editors are the…Read more
  •  70
    Paternalistic Food and Beverage Policies: A Response to Conly
    Public Health Ethics 7 (2): 170-177. 2014.
    Sarah Conly defends paternalistic public health policies, such as New York City’s soft drink ban, on the grounds that they promote values that people accept but have difficulty realizing, owing to their cognitive biases. In this commentary, I criticize Conly’s defense of the soft drink ban and offer my own view of the justification for paternalistic food and beverage policies. I propose that paternalistic government restrictions on food and beverage choices should address a significant health pr…Read more
  •  12
    A Biotechnology Patent Pool: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
    Journal of Philosophy, Science and Law 3 1-22. 2003.
    This paper discusses the idea of forming a patent pool in order to address some of the licensing problems in the biotechnology industry. The pool would be an independent, non-profit corporation that would manage patents and have the authority to grant licenses. The patent pool would not be a purely altruistic venture, since it would charge licensing fees. The pool would charge the market price for licensing services and reimburse patent holders for licensing activities. The pool would also provi…Read more
  •  18
    Research Subjects in Developing Nations and Vulnerability
    American Journal of Bioethics 4 (3): 63-64. 2004.
    Some authors have argued that research subjects in developing nations should be considered vulnerable and that this designation can help to ensure that investigators take extra steps to protect the...
  •  112
    Debunking the slippery slope argument against human germ-line Gene therapy
    Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 19 (1): 23-40. 1994.
    This paper attempts to debunk the slippery-slope argument against human germ-line gene therapy by showing that the downside of the slope – genetic enhancement – need not be as unethical or unjust as some people have supposed. It argues that if genetic enhancement is governed by proper regulations and is accompanied by adequate education, then it need not violate recognized principles of morality or social justice. Keywords: germ-line therapy, slippery slope argument, future generations, social j…Read more
  •  46
    What is “dual use” research? A response to Miller and Selgelid
    Science and Engineering Ethics 15 (1): 3-5. 2009.
  •  11
    Oncology consent forms: failure to disclose off-site treatment availability
    with Shyamal Peddada, Jason Altilio, Nancy Wang, and Jerry Menikoff
    IRB: Ethics & Human Research 30 (6): 7. 2008.
    The objective of this study was to determine whether consent forms in oncology clinical trials of commercially available treatments inform subjects that they may be able to obtain the treatments being investigated without participating in research. We acquired consent forms from a random sample of U.S. oncology clinical trials in the ClinicalTrials.gov database. We then examined a subgroup of the sample consisting of studies in which the treatments under investigations were commercially availabl…Read more
  •  25
    Review of Nanoethics: Big Ethical Issues with Small Technology (review)
    Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology 4 (2). 2010.
  •  58
    Data Fabrication and Falsification and Empiricist Philosophy of Science
    Science and Engineering Ethics 20 (2): 423-431. 2014.
    Scientists have rules pertaining to data fabrication and falsification that are enforced with significant punishments, such as loss of funding, termination of employment, or imprisonment. These rules pertain to data that describe observable and unobservable entities. In this commentary I argue that scientists would not adopt rules that impose harsh penalties on researchers for data fabrication or falsification unless they believed that an aim of scientific research is to develop true theories an…Read more
  •  42
    The precautionary principle and medical decision making
    Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 29 (3). 2004.
    The precautionary principle is a useful strategy for decision-making when physicians and patients lack evidence relating to the potential outcomes associated with various choices. According to a version of the principle defended here, one should take reasonable measures to avoid threats that are serious and plausible. The reasonableness of a response to a threat depends on several factors, including benefit vs. harm, realism, proportionality, and consistency. Since a concept of reasonableness pl…Read more
  •  74
    Laws and development
    Synthese 112 (1): 37-51. 1997.
  •  120
    Is the precautionary principle unscientific?
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 34 (2): 329-344. 2003.
    The precautionary principle holds that we should not allow scientific uncertainty to prevent us from taking precautionary measures in response to potential threats that are irreversible and potentially disastrous. Critics of the principle claim that it deters progress and development, is excessively risk-aversive and is unscientific. This paper argues that the principle can be scientific provided that the threats addressed by the principle are plausible threats, and the precautionary measures ad…Read more
  •  13
    Responsible Conduct in Nanomedicine Research: Environmental Concerns beyond the Common Rule
    Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 40 (4): 848-855. 2012.
    The Common Rule is a set of regulations for protecting human participants in research funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, which has been adopted in part by 17 federal agencies. It includes four different subparts: Subpart A, Subpart B, Subpart C, and Subpart D. The Common Rule has not been significantly revised since 1981 although some significant changes may be forthcoming. The Food and Drug Administration has adopted its own regulations for the protection of human participan…Read more
  •  76
    Conflicts of interest in science
    Perspectives on Science 6 (4): 381-408. 1998.
    : This essay provides an analysis of conflicts of interest in science. It gives an overview of some current conflict of interest policies and distinguishes between real, apparent, and potential conflicts of interest. The essay argues that scientists should disclose real, apparent, and potential conflicts of interest and that they should avoid conflicts that threaten scientific objectivity or trustworthiness. The essay also uses several hypothetical scenarios to illustrate some of the key points …Read more
  •  2
    Taking Financial Relationships into Account When Assessing Research
    Accountability in Research: Policies and Quality Assurance 20 (3): 184-205. 2013.
  •  87
    Hacking’s Experimental Realism
    Canadian Journal of Philosophy 24 (3): 395-411. 1994.
    Traditional debates about scientific realism tend to focus on issues concerning scientific representation and de-emphasize issues concerning scientific intervention. Questions about the relation between theories and the world, the nature of scientific inference, and the structure of scientific explanations have occupied a central place in the realism debate, while questions about experimentation and technology have not. Ian Hacking's experimental realism attempts to reverse this trend by shiftin…Read more