TREATs Talks

About:

The Bioethics and Subject Advocacy Program (BSAP) of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) at Indiana University School of Medicine presents Translational Research Ethics: Applied Topics seminars (TREATs) monthly regarding ethical issues in translational research. Access to presentations and information on research ethics presented as TREAT seminars are available.

37 results found

Medical Students as Subjects
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On December 5, 2024, Dr. Andrew Brightman, PhD, of Purdue University, presented on the ethics of doing research with medical students.

Data and Safety Monitoring Plans/Boards
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On October 10, 2024, Nicolas Oliver, MA discussed the need for Data and Safety Monitoring Plans in human subjects research as well as when it is appropriate for researchers to use a Data and Safety Monitoring Board.

Return of Research Results, Ethics and the Common Rule
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On March 14th, 2024, Director of IU Center for Bioethics Dr. Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD presented our latest TREATs talk entitled, "Return of Research Results, Ethics and the Common Rule."

Self-Experimentation: History, Ethics, and Current Issues
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On Thursday, February 8th, 2024, Dr. Tom Doyle Ph.D. presented a TREATs talk for IUCB entitled, "Self-Experimentation: History, Ethics, and Current Issues.” 

The Public Health Research Exception: Lessons from a Pandemic
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On December 7th, 2023, Mark Fox, MD, MA, MPH, PhD, Director and Associate Dean of IUSM South Bend presented on the Public Health Research Exception for Human Subjects Research. In this talk, Dr. Fox summarized what might be considered exempt from human subjects research regulation using examples from his experiences in public health research.

Community Engagement: Ethical Challenges and Approaches
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On October 16th, 2023, Dr. Mary Ott, MD, MA, gave a TREATs talk on the 8 ethical considerations for community engagement in research. They are: Who is the community? Has the community been consulted? Is this an equal partnership? Does your project build capacity and sustainability? What is your IRB community representation and input? What are the risks to the community? How will results be returned to the community? What if results are unflattering/unfavorable?

Ethics Issues in Design and Testing of Medical Technologies
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
This lecture, given on September 7th, 2023, is presented by Andrew Brightman, Ph.D., Professor of Engineering Practice at Purdue University. In the seminar, he discusses the ethical issues in the design and testing of medical technologies.

The Ethics of Wearing Two Hats: How to Provide Clinical Care and Conduct Research Simultaneously and Ethically
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
This lecture, given on June 22nd, 2023, is presented by Colin Halverson, Ph.D., Faculty Investigator at IU Center for Bioethics. The seminar considers how to ethically conduct research when you are both a clinician and researcher. Some questions that will be addressed include: What are the ethical dangers of being both a clinician and a researcher? Can you be both a clinician and a researcher for the same patients? What protective steps can one take to play both roles ethically? Could conducting research make for a better clinician?

Learning Healthcare Systems: Possibilities and Ethics
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On May 25, 2023, Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD, Director, Bioethics and Participant Advocacy Program of the Indiana CTSI; Director, IU Center for Bioethics hosted the latest iteration of IUCB's TREATs talks. In this short talk / discussion, Dr. Schwartz provides a roadmap to the major issues and recommendations by ethicists for those hoping to aid in the transition to learning healthcare systems and for those who will work within these systems in the future.

Artificial Intelligence Research for Patient Benefit: Ethical Considerations
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On January 26th, 2023, Dr. Erika R. Cheng, PhD, MPA, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at IU School of Medicine presented the IU Center for Bioethics' most recent TREATs (Translational Research Ethics – Applied Topics) seminar. Dr. Cheng discusses conducting research on AI and conducting research using AI and the ethical concerns that each bring. She also discusses what sort of research can be done to develop AI to improve healthcare without harming patients through potential misuse or bias.

Being a Researcher and an Advocate
Topics/Areas:
Clinical Ethics, Professional Competence, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On December 15th, 2022, Dr. Jody Madeira gave a TREATs talk: "Being a Researcher and an Advocate" In the talk, she talks about balancing research and advocacy. Dr. Madeira asks questions like, "Why advocate?" or "How does one effectively advocate?" She also talks about research as a way to advocate and also advocating as a part of research, such as in medical fields. Dr. Jody Madeira first gave a similar talk for the Center for Bioethics in 2019, but she returned to give an updated lecture following the years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clinical Trial Diversity: Who is Accountable
Topics/Areas:
Clinical Ethics, Cultural Competence, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On April 27th, 2022, Dr. Lauren D. Nephew, MD, MA, MSCE gave TREATs talk "Clinical Trial Diversity: Who is Accountable?" In the talk, she examined why diversity is important in clinical trials, how pervasive the issue is, and potential solutions. She touches on the earned mistrust minority populations have towards the medical community as well as towards clinical research and barriers between both patients and providers in care settings. She points to accountability as a solution in promoting diversity in clinical trials, as well as individual, institutional, and policy changes that will aid in promoting diversity in clinical trials.

Research Misconduct and the Origin of Institutional Review Boards in the U.S
Topics/Areas:
Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On February 23, 2022, William Schneider, Ph.D. gave a presentation titled “Research Misconduct and Origin of the Institutional Review Boards in the U.S.”. During this talk, he examined the historical developments that shaped the conduct of research and regulations in America today. He also examined the way in which the communication of scientific results changed, and how those changes ensured the validity of the results. This led to more research, with prompted a response to ensure the safety of research participants. He also points to the public awareness and concern and increased government spending as reasons for increased regulation of research. Henry Beecher’s article exposing research misconduct after the Nuremberg Code and Declaration of Helsinki finally caused the creation of IRBs to ensure research is conducted ethically.

Cultural Humility: The Underlying Principle in the Belmont Report
Topics/Areas:
Cultural Competence, Professional Competence, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On December 6, 2021, Sylk Sotto, EdD, MPS, MBA, gave a presentation titled "Cultural Humility: The Underlying Principle in the Belmont Report." Dr. Sotto discussed how the Belmont Report lead to cultural humility and the focus on respect, humility, and quality. She considered how the Belmont Report and the council considered cultural humility principles and talked about the potential for new principles in bioethics, including responsibility, accountability, and solidarity. She showed how cultural humility should be incorporated into research and how to act as a culturally humble researcher.

Social Media Recruitment: Methodological and Ethical Considerations
Topics/Areas:
Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On November 8th, 2021, Lisa Carter, Ph.D., gave a presentation titled, "From Recruitment to Interventions: A Conversation About Methodological and Ethical Considerations for Research using Social Media Platform." During this talk, Lisa gave an overview of the benefits of utilizing social media marketing to increase community participation during research. She also discussed the dangers of these recruitment methods that may jeopardize the validity of research findings. She points these key issues while providing pertinent responses to uphold research integrity.

Rural Communities and Engagement
Topics/Areas:
Public Health, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On September 17th, 2021, Katharine J. Head, Ph.D., delivered a TREATs talk titled “Engaging in Research With/In Rural Communities.” Doing research with/in rural communities raises concerns about how to provide adequate respect, information, and value. Dr. Head provides a framework that addresses common problems and balances the task of performing good research while connecting and solving health disparities in these populations. To read a blog about this talk: click here or watch the talk below.

Paying Research Participants
Topics/Areas:
Core, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On June 24th, 2021, Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD, delivered a TREATs talk titled “Paying Research Participants: Avoiding Coercion, Undue Influence, and Exploitation.” His talk takes on the issue of compensating research participants, with an eye towards the role of wages in evaluating their fair treatment. He provides some brief background information on informed consent, participant motivations for taking part in research, and the common justifications for paying participants before examining ideas of coercion, undue influence, and exploitation as they relate to wage determination. The talk inspired questions of allocating fair wages in study designs, paying pediatric participants, and adjusting wages according to a study’s recruitment needs among others.

Secondary Use of Public Health Data: Ethics in the Context of COVID-19
Topics/Areas:
Biobank, Biosecurity, Consent, COVID-19, Public Health, Treats Talk
On February 18th, 2021, Dr. TJ Kasperbauer presented a TREATs talk on "Secondary Use of Public Health Data in the Context of COVID-19." Dr. Kasperbauer is a post-doctoral fellow for the IU Center for Bioethics and a member of the Bioethics and Participant Advocacy Program (BPAP). Here, Dr. Kasperbauer discusses the ethics of data privacy, current and potential restrictions on data, responsibilities of researchers, and how to best optimize COVID-19-related data.

Community Engagement: Ethics in the case of Mobile Health Technology
Topics/Areas:
Consent, Public Health, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
Are you a mobile health technology researcher who wants to recruit participants in community settings? Come and learn about ethics and engaging communities in your research. Many of the same issues arise for other sorts of community engaged research. Watch this TREATs talk below, from January 22nd, presented by Dr. Mary A. Ott and Dr. Andrew Brightman.

Peer Review Ethics
Topics/Areas:
Professional Competence, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On December 11, 2020, Dr. Jody Madeira, PhD, JD, Co-Director of the Center for Law, Society, and Culture, and Professor of Law at Indiana University, presented "The Ethics of Peer Review." She discussed the many ethical issues surrounding the peer review process of academic journals.

Data Ethics: De-Identification
Topics/Areas:
Core, Consent, Privacy, Treats Talk
On October 30th, 2019 Dr. Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD, Director of the Indiana University Center for Bioethics presented, "De-identified Data: Ethics and Regulation." He discussed updates to the Common Rule and how research with de-identified data interacts with the four major principles of research ethics.

Pediatric Biobanking and Re-Consent
Topics/Areas:
Biobank, Consent, Pediatric, Treats Talk
On October 27th, 2016, Jane Hartsock, JD, MA, explores the question, “Under what circumstances is a researcher required to obtain the re-consent of a research participant, who was enrolled in research as a child and has since obtained the age of majority?” Hartsock answers this question via re-consent protocols in pediatric biobanking, though the new Common Rule has left some gaps in its recommendations pertaining to pediatric re-consent. Some ethical issues that arise from re-consent include physical, psychological, economic, and privacy concerns.

Cluster Randomized Clinical Trials: Ethics and Science
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On March 29th, 2017, Edward Liechty, MD, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, gave a presentation on the unique ethical issues that arise from cluster randomized clinical trials. Dr. Liechty's presentation, "Cluster Randomized Clinical Trials: Ethics and Science," differentiates between individual and cluster trials and analyzes the power of each type of study. This talk helps the viewer determine the pertinent bioethical issues in cluster randomized clinical trial set-up, such as: personal autonomy, community representation, and a researcher's scope of authority.

Students as Subjects: The Cases of Medical Device Design Projects
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On April 27, 2017, Andrew Brightman, PhD gave a presentation on "Medical Device Design Projects: When Do Students Become Human Subjects?" In his talk, Dr. Brightman discusses whether students designing medical devices and performing research on themselves should be treated as human subjects. Furthermore, he explores whether they should also follow the same ethical regulations as other studies involving human subjects.

Clinical Research by non-Clinician: How to adequately Protect Human Subjects
Topics/Areas:
Clinical Ethics, Consent, Professional Competence, Treats Talk
In January 2020, Mark Fox, MD, PhD, MPH, gave a lecture entitled, “Clinical Research by the non-Clinician: How to Adequately Protect Human Subjects." Dr. Fox focuses on the difficulty of deciding whether clinicians should be included in clinical research performed by expertly trained non-clinician researchers.

Ethnographic Research
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On April 30th, 2020, Dr. Colin Halverson, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, Faculty Investigator at the IU Center for Bioethics, and expert in linguistic anthropology, presented a TREATs talk entitled, "Ethnographic Research." Here, Dr. Halverson explores ethnographic methods and the issues that arise when using combined classical and modern research methods.

Informed Consent for Biobanking
Topics/Areas:
Biobank, Consent, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On May 13, 2019, T.J. Kasperbauer, PhD, gave a talk on informed consent for biobanking research. The talk explains how to apply the Common Rule to biobanking projects, including discussion of de-identification, consent waivers, broad consent, and facilitating understanding of consent materials.

Research Misconduct
Topics/Areas:
Core, Professional Competence, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On June 18, 2020, Dr. Sylk Sotto presented a Translational Research Ethics- Applied Topics (TREATs) Talk titled, "Research Misconduct." Dr. Sotto explores the ethical issues involved with quick science, peer review, and the race to publish. She also differentiates fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism of others and self. In this video, you will learn what research misconduct looks like, how to spot it, who it affects, and where to report it.

Conflict of Interest: Medical Device Companies
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On September 29, 2016, Andrew Brightman, PhD, gave a presentation on the conflicts of interest that can arise from partnering with medical device companies during research. Dr. Brightman delves into the importance of minimizing the risk of harm from bias which could reduce the objectivity and integrity of research. He goes on to determine the importance of encouraging positive partnerships in research where a conflict of interest could pose a problem.

Virtual Engagement During COVID-19
Topics/Areas:
COVID-19, Pandemic, Privacy, Public Health, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
In June 2020, Dr. Mary Ott, MD, MA, FAAP, discussed "Ethics of Virtual Engagement During COVID-19." These virtual methods can be qualitative and/or quantitative, and may include surveys, social network analyses, online clinical trials, social media research, cyber-ethnography, focus groups, interviews, and more. Virtual research, however, also brings its own challenges. First, the problem of recruitment comes into play (e.g. identifying who is actually doing the research), as well as problems of hardware and software connectivity. These considerations can affect the scientific rigor of the research, which is especially important during an epidemic. Dr. Ott explores these barriers and potential solutions.

Research with Children: Essentials for Investigators
Topics/Areas:
Core, Consent, Pediatric, Privacy, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On June 6th, 2019, Mary A. Ott, MD, MA gave a presentation entitled "Research with Children: Essentials for Investigators." Dr. Mary Ott discusses the ethical concerns with involving children in research. Due to the vulnerability of this population (in terms of dependence on others, access to resources, and power dynamics), special research methodologies must be employed. Here, Dr. Ott elucidates children's vulnerabilities and the conditions that allow appropriate access to the as research participants.

QI vs. Research: Ethical Overlap and distinctions between QI and Research
Topics/Areas:
Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On September 6, 2018, Mary Ott, MD, MA, Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, presented a TREATs talk entitled, "When is QI just QI? Ethical Overlap and Distinctions between QI and Research." Here, Dr. Mary Ott compares and contrasts quality improvement (QI) and research: quality improvement is a systematic approach to improve performance, while research is an investigation to increase human knowledge. While there are some similarities, both approaches have different methodologies. Dr. Ott discusses problems with applying standard research ethics to QI. Do more appropriate ethical frameworks exist for QI work?

Authorship (During COVID Times)
Topics/Areas:
Core, COVID-19, Professional Competence, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On April 15, 2021, Jane Hartsock, JD, MA, gave a presentation explaining the ethical issues surrounding authorship, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hartsock reviews guidelines for what constitutes 'author' status and identifies ethical obligations. Hartsock reviews cases of research misconduct and discusses models of authorship that reward authentic participation.

Wearable Technology and Research
Topics/Areas:
Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On October 3, 2019, Andrew Brightman, PhD, gave a presentation entitled "Ethics of Research Involving Wearable Technologies," in which he explains the differences between regulated medical and unregulated consumer health and fitness technologies. Dr. Brightman discusses the core ethical issues of research involving wearable technologies, such as: protecting the privacy of participants; veracity and security of data; and ensuring informed consent. Who has access to your smart watch data, who’s interpreting it, and what are they doing with it?

Consent Waivers and Exceptions in Research
Topics/Areas:
Research Ethics, Treats Talk
In January 2020, Jane Hartsock, JD, MA, gave a presentation entitled, "Research without Consent." Why do healthcare facilities include such impenetrable language on general consent forms? Jane Hartsock argues that this language is problematic for patients and clinicians and, in today’s ethical and legal milieu, it is meaningless. Using her experience as an attorney, Hartsock offers the legal perspective of how and when clinicians must obtain informed consent, according to the Common Rule. She discusses consent in light of interventionary relationships between clinician and patient/participant and speaks briefly about biospecimen research. Topics include: types of information that needs to be removed from electronic health records (EHR) to protect participant identity; issues raised in identification based on genetics; consent as an ethical process and not just a legal form; and others.

Return of Individual Research Results Ethics and The Common Rule
Topics/Areas:
Core, Research Ethics, Treats Talk
On April 2, 2020, Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD, gave a presentation entitled "Return of Individual Research Results: Ethics and the Common Rule." In this talk, Dr. Schwartz talks about return of individual research results and the ethics of the Common Rule. There is a sharp line between healthcare and research: they have different goals and carry different responsibilities. Recent changes, however, have led to a blurring of the line between the two. Updates to the Common Rule (2016) require researchers to disclose which study findings, if any, will be returned to participants, and under what conditions. Furthermore, advances in genetic testing make it easier and less expensive to obtain results that could be used by participants to guide healthcare decisions. IRBs are having to deal with the evolving landscape of ethical research regarding return of research findings and their potential impact on patients' healthcare. Dr. Schwartz has been working with Amy Waltz and Sandy Prucka to update IRB guidelines for researchers regarding what type of information needs to be returned to participants. Stay until the end to see a guest appearance from IUCB Founding Director Dr. Eric Meslin!

School - based research: Ethics and Regulation
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On March 1, 2017, Mary Ott, MD, MA, gave a presentation on the ethical issues surrounding research in schools including privacy and data security, parental permission, and minimal risk research.

TREATs Talks

TREATs Talks

About:

Medical Students as SubjectsTopics/Areas: Treats TalkOn December 5, 2024, Dr. Andrew Brightman, PhD, of Purdue University, presented on the ethics of doing research with medical students.

Data and Safety Monitoring Plans/BoardsTopics/Areas: Treats TalkOn October 10, 2024, Nicolas Oliver, MA discussed the need for Data and Safety Monitoring Plans in human subjects research as well as when it is appropriate for researchers to use a Data and Safety Monitoring Board.

Return of Research Results, Ethics and the Common RuleTopics/Areas: Treats TalkOn March 14th, 2024, Director of IU Center for Bioethics Dr. Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD presented our latest TREATs talk entitled, "Return of Research Results, Ethics and the Common Rule."

Self-Experimentation: History, Ethics, and Current IssuesTopics/Areas: Treats TalkOn Thursday, February 8th, 2024, Dr. Tom Doyle Ph.D. presented a TREATs talk for IUCB entitled, "Self-Experimentation: History, Ethics, and Current Issues.”

School - based research: Ethics and RegulationTopics/Areas: Treats TalkOn March 1, 2017, Mary Ott, MD, MA, gave a presentation on the ethical issues surrounding research in schools including privacy and data security, parental permission, and minimal risk research.

Center for Bioethics resources and social media channels

Medical Students as Subjects
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On December 5, 2024, Dr. Andrew Brightman, PhD, of Purdue University, presented on the ethics of doing research with medical students.

Data and Safety Monitoring Plans/Boards
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On October 10, 2024, Nicolas Oliver, MA discussed the need for Data and Safety Monitoring Plans in human subjects research as well as when it is appropriate for researchers to use a Data and Safety Monitoring Board.

Return of Research Results, Ethics and the Common Rule
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On March 14th, 2024, Director of IU Center for Bioethics Dr. Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD presented our latest TREATs talk entitled, "Return of Research Results, Ethics and the Common Rule."

Self-Experimentation: History, Ethics, and Current Issues
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On Thursday, February 8th, 2024, Dr. Tom Doyle Ph.D. presented a TREATs talk for IUCB entitled, "Self-Experimentation: History, Ethics, and Current Issues.” 

School - based research: Ethics and Regulation
Topics/Areas:
Treats Talk
On March 1, 2017, Mary Ott, MD, MA, gave a presentation on the ethical issues surrounding research in schools including privacy and data security, parental permission, and minimal risk research.