Biomedical Sciences Cluster Curriculum - Scientific Integrity and Ethical Conduct

The University of Chicago has always taught the importance of conducting scientific research in an ethical and responsible manner. In 1990, in response to new regulations from the National Institutes of Health, this informal training was formalized into a teaching program on Scientific Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research. The program was initially sponsored by the University's Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. All pre- and postdoctoral students receiving funding from NIH/PHS T-32 grants were expected to attend. Other graduate students and faculty were encouraged to participate.

      In 1990-91, a series of seven lecture-discussions was presented during the academic year, with accompanying readings. Speakers included members of the University community, as well as outside experts. The sessions were tape-recorded to be used again in later years. Topics covered included: the feasibility of teaching scientific integrity; government concerns with integrity and misconduct in science; policies for protecting human research subjects; ethical and policy concerns of animal research; University of Chicago procedures for investigating academic fraud; ethical issues in scientific publication; and an examination of how researchers at the University handle issues of scientific responsibility.

      In 1991-92, the format was changed to a series of four two-hour seminars, one in each academic quarter. For each seminar, eligible students were divided into ten groups, each led by two faculty members, a biological scientist and an ethicist. Selected readings and a case study to initiate discussion accompanied each seminar, together with a list of potential topics and questions to cover, based on the reading material. Topics covered were scientific misconduct and fraud, laboratory supervision and control of data, publication and reviewing practices, and societal concerns about research material such as genes, animals, and human subjects.

      In 1992-93, Robert Martin, a senior researcher from the National Institutes of Health, was invited to speak to students during the summer quarter. In his talk, Martin discussed the famous case of the Piltdown Man and the current thinking on its status as a case of scientific fraud. A period of discussion followed. After the talk, a group of professional actors performed a reading of Mr. Martin's play, "A Stampede of Zebras," which deals with issues of scientific ethics. A panel of faculty and students then fielded questions and discussed issues raised in the play.

      In 1993-94, a series of five lectures was organized, two in Fall Quarter, two in Winter Quarter, and one in Spring Quarter. These lectures, given by invited speakers, covered topics such as: integrity and misconduct in science; conflicts of interest between academia and industry; responsible authorship and data management; and University of Chicago policies for handling questions of scientific ethics. In addition, training grant directors organized discussion sessions in which students presented specific ethics cases to small groups of students for more in-depth analysis.

      In 1994-95, due to the popularity and success of the small discussion groups, training grant directors continued the program from the prior year. Selected readings, covering specific issues of scientific ethics, were also discussed at the sessions.

      In 1995-96, the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics arranged a series of five lectures, spread over the Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters, which focused on aspects of scientific integrity, including conflicts of interest, publishing, record keeping, the responsible conduct of research, and University policies for ensuring responsible science. Each lecture was followed by a lengthy question and answer session. The small discussion groups initiated by training grant directors were also continued.

      In 1996-97, the Division of the Biological Sciences initiated a formal course in Spring Quarter entitled "Scientific Integrity and the Ethical Conduct of Research." Since then, all first-year graduate students are obliged to attend the course for academic credit, as one of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Many of the sessions are also open to the public and other students are encouraged to attend. Different aspects of scientific ethics are covered each week; each led by two different faculty members. The format varies, including: faculty presentations followed by group discussions; faculty presentations with question and answer periods within the presentation time; or case study discussion with no formal prior presentation. Topics covered include: mentoring; data presentation, ownership and sharing; responsibilities of scientific communication; fraud and misconduct; publication and authorship; human experimentation; the genome project; human cloning; institutional policies on scientific misconduct; conflicts of interest in research and industry; implications of genetic susceptibility to disease; animals in research; and science and society. The students are also required to complete two written assignments, based on case studies, and make small group presentations to the rest of the class.

      In 2000-01, based on feedback from a student focus group, the structure of the course will be altered from primarily a formal lecture format to incorporate more small group discussions in a workshop format. The topics for the lectures will follow the requirements from NIH, decreasing the number from 10 to 5, and will include Teaching/Mentoring, Data Presentation & Management/Authorship & Publication, Fraud and Misconduct, Animals in Research, Human Research and its Challenges and Conflict of Interest. The rest of the course will offer a variety of workshops that students may choose according to their area of research, such as, IACUC, Informed Consent, IP/Tech Transfer, Science and Society I - impact of sciences on society (biosphere), Science and Society II - perception of sciences by society and how science is presented to the public, Genetic Counseling, Genome Project, Field Biology, and a panel discussion about genetically engineered food and crops. The students will still be required to complete two written assignments.

      In addition to this formal requirement for graduate students, there are a number of opportunities in the Division to explore the ethics related to the conduct of research. In addition to individual seminars offered by various departments, which may cover relevant topics, there are three academic units within the Division of Biological Sciences, which routinely offer seminars on ethics and research. Although it has a more clinical focus, the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics' seminar series continues to cover a wide variety of ethics-related topics. In addition, the newly formed Department of Health Studies sponsors a weekly seminar series which often includes topics of interest including research design and the ethics of research and clinical trials using human subjects. Finally, the Animal Resources Center provides monthly training sessions on the ethical care and use of animals on such recent topics as "Detecting and Evaluating Animal Pain and Distress," and "Determining the Number of Animals to Use in an Experiment."