The Road to Ethical Science: A Guide to Restoring Trust in Science
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2023
Pages: 241
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Rarely a week goes by without reading about a case of unethical behavior during the conduct of research. By the time the misconduct is discovered, the damage is often done. Such unethical behavior leads to a loss of trust in the scientific enterprise and, nowadays, also to increased polarization in the philosophical and political views of our society.
What drives individuals and organizations to engage in research misconduct and other unethical behavior that undermines the integrity of and trust in the scientific enterprise? How can we guard against unethical behavior? One major reason is that there does not exist a sufficient emphasis on the relationship between ethics and trust in the context of our scientific enterprise for people to realize that much more is at stake when the prospect of short-term gains drives unethical behavior.
The information in The Road to Ethical Science: A Guide to Restoring Trust in Science serves as a roadmap for both current and future scientists as well as the lay public in how to frame scientific decisions in ethically appropriate ways. This book gives the reader a comprehensive understanding of how to become a successful ethical scientist, learn the reasons for unethical behavior in science and life more generally, and how to avoid the pitfalls that can lead to unethical behavior.
This book covers many examples of unethical behavior in the conduct of science, how those ethical lapses affected regulatory and compliance oversight of science, and how individuals can guard against ethical failures in the performance of science. Substantial discussion on the reasons for distrust in science, including the lack of reproducibility and replicability, toxic lab environments irresponsible publishing, confirmation bias, and the role of social media in the spread of scientific (mis)information as well as ways to cultivate more trust in the scientific process are presented. Considerable coverage of ethical issues in the areas of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, hyperconnectivity, and new energy technologies, how these will transform our lives in the future, and the ethical implications that they present, is also included.
Preface
Introduction
CHAPTER 1 WHY ETHICS FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
How Science Works
Knowledge Discovery and the Role of Evidence
Ethical Philosophies
Normative Ethics
Secular Ethics
Anticipatory Technology Ethics
Ethics Education
CHAPTER 2 TRUST
Drivers of Distrust in Science
Sloppy Science: Reproducibility and Replicability
Toxic Science: Intimidation in the Lab
Fake Science: Disinformation and Misinformation
Splashy Science: Overstating Claims
Open Science: Responsible Publishing
Biased Science: Confirmation Bias
Cultivating Trust in Science
Communicating Research
Regulating Research
Managing Risk
CHAPTER 3 THE DEVELOPMENT AND ROLE OF RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES
The Global Scholarly Community and Our Debt to the Past
Developments in Eurasia until the 5th Century
Islamic Empires between the 6th and 11th Century
The Institutionalization of Research
The Rise of Universities in Western Europe between the 11th and 17th Century
The Rise of Government Control
Higher Education in Western Europe in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Germany
France
Britain
A Brief History of Funding for Knowledge Generation
Ethical Implications of the Complexity of Knowledge Generation
CHAPTER 4 THE EVOLUTION OF RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
The Early Years
The Rise of the Research University in the 19th Century
Increasing Influence of the Federal Government
The Rise of Applied Research
Research in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s
The Response to Sputnik
R&D Funding
Economic, Political, and Social Factors Determine Federal R&D Funding
Main Performers and Funders of R&D
Basic and Applied Research and Development
R&D Funding in Higher Education
Federal Funding Priorities
The Research University in the 21st Century
Challenges Ahead
CHAPTER 5 THE PRIVATE SECTOR
The Four Industrial Revolutions
Commercialization and the Bayh-Dole Act
Commercialization
Start-Up Companies and Universities
Academia–Industry Partnerships
When Industry-Funded Research Compromises Objectivity and Independence
Influencing Research Agendas: The Center for Indoor Air Research
Manipulating Evidence: GlaxoSmithKline’s Diabetes Drug Rosiglitazone
Suppressing Publications: A Drug to Treat Thalassemia
Undue Influence: Uber
The Need for Academia–Industry Partnerships
Big Science
Military–Industrial Complex
Big Pharma
The Opioid Crisis
Raising Drug Prices: EpiPens and Daraprim
When Regulatory Oversight Works
Big Tech
Philanthropic Support of Research
CHAPTER 6 RESEARCH TRENDS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Broadening the Scope of Research
A Shift to Interdisciplinary Research
A Greater Focus on Solving Societal Problems
The National Science Foundation Pushes Team Science and Broader Impact
How to Make Team Science Work
Commercialization of University Research
Measuring the Impact of Research
Measuring the Impact of Academic and Private Sector Investments
U.S. World and News Report Metric
Carnegie Classification
STAR METRICS
Higher Education Institutions
An International Example: United Kingdom
Measuring the Impact on Society
Altmetrics
Clinical Research
Public Health
Increasing Research Impact
CHAPTER 7 SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Science in the Crosshairs
COVID-19
Climate Change
The Theory of Evolution
Lobbying, Grassroot Movements, and Public Impact
Gun Violence
HIV/AIDS
Globalization and National Security
Export Controls
Impact on the US Research Enterprise
CHAPTER 8 RESEARCH INTEGRITY
Research Misconduct
Fabrication, Falsification, and Plagiarism
Case Study: Stem Cells
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
Case Study: Tuskegee
Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment
Financial Conflicts of Interest (fCOIs) in Public–Private Partnerships
Managing COIs/fCOIs/COCs
Gifts to Academic Clinical Researchers and Physicians
Case Study: Harvard Medical School—A Financial Conflict of Interest
Rebuttable Presumption
Oversight of Human Subject and Animal Research
Case Studies: Adverse Outcomes in Human Subjects Experiments
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)
The Belmont Report
Clinical Trials
The Use of Animals in Research
Why Does Research Misconduct Still Occur?
CHAPTER 9 BECOMING A RESEARCHER
Creating a Positive Research Environment
Seeking Mentors
The Importance of Networking
Professional Societies
Going to Conferences
The Toxic Lab
Reporting Abusive or Unethical Behavior and Retaliation
The Research Process
Seeking Funding: General Remarks
Writing an NIH Proposal
Data Management
Data Management Plan and Good Data Management Practices
Data Ownership
Community-Based Research
Case Studies
Bioprospecting
Henrietta Lacks
Ancient DNA
Authorship and Peer Review
Authorship
Peer Review
Concluding Remarks
Lack of Accountability and Integrity Erodes Trust
Understanding Academic Medical Centers: Simone’s Maxims
CHAPTER 10 FUTURE CHALLENGES
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Natural Language Processing
The Need for Data
The Need for Fair Algorithms
Machines Competing with Human Qualities
Creativity
Generative AI
Sentience
Hyperconnectivity
Surveillance
Data Privacy
Cybersecurity
Virtual Environments
Biotechnology
Brain–Computer Interfaces
Genetic Manipulation
CRISPR—A Gene Editing Tool
Gene Drive
Designing Pathogens
Gain-of-Function Research
Therapeutic Agents
New Energy Technologies
Energy Transition and the Global Community
Having a Voice
Global Ethics: Solving Societal Problems
Enhancing Ethical Practices
Denouement
About the Authors
Dr. Brian Herman has spent the past 40 years teaching, doing research, and serving as the administrator in charge of research at Harvard Medical School, The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), the University of Texas (UT), and the University of Minnesota (UMN). Dr. Herman has also served as Vice President for Research at UT Health in San Antonio, Texas, and at UMN. As a senior research administrator, Dr. Herman worked at the US national level to develop conflict of interest/financial conflict of interest policies that have been adopted by US universities to make sure that research done by colleges and universities is free from inappropriate influences. Additionally, Dr. Herman has spent many years examining and developing policies surrounding treating and including human participants in clinical research trials. These focused on the ethical issues surrounding the recruitment of mentally ill patients into trials following involuntary commitment, whether physicians should recruit their own patients in research trials they are performing, whistleblower protections that allow employees to report unethical behavior without retribution, and institutional culture as it relates to moral, ethical choices. Presently, Dr. Herman is a Full Professor of Biomedical Engineering at UMN as well as CEO of Herman, Neuhauser Research Management Consulting, Inc. (www.hnrmctx.com), which advises institutions and corporations on strategy/organizational/operational aspects, regulatory and compliance needs, and management of data of all kinds across the data lifecycle. Dr. Herman’s research has focused on the areas of aging and cell death. His work has led to new insights into the disease process of osteoporosis, neurodegeneration (Alzheimer’s Disease), and cancer. Because of his research contributions, he has been awarded multiple honors, including being listed in the American Men and Women of Science, American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award, Presidential Distinguished Senior Scholar Award, Who’s Who in American Education, Dozer Fellowship from Ben Gurion University, Israel and two 10-year Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award, awarded by the National Institutes of Health to the top 1-2% scientists in the US.
Claudia Neuhauser, PhD, is Associate Vice President/Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Houston (UH) and currently serves as Interim Vice President/Vice Chancellor for Research. In addition, she is Professor of Mathematics at UH, serves as the Director of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute at UH, and is VP at Herman, Neuhauser Research Management Consulting, Inc. (www.hnrmctx.com). Prior to coming to the University of Houston in 2018, she served as Associate Vice President for Research and Director of Research Computing at the University of Minnesota. In her capacity as Director of Research Computing, she directed the University of Minnesota Informatics Institute, the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, and U Spatial. She was the founding Director of Graduate Studies of the Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology graduate program at the University of Minnesota from 2008 to 2017 and served as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the newly established University of Minnesota Rochester from 2008 and 2013. Neuhauser’s research is at the interface of mathematics and biology. She received her Diplom in mathematics from the Universität Heidelberg (Germany) in 1988 and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University in 1990. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS). Neuhauser’s research is at the interface of mathematics and biology and focuses on the development of statistical methods in biomedical applications. Her interest in furthering the quantitative training of life science undergraduate students has resulted in a widely used calculus book (Calculus for Biology and Medicine), which is now in its fourth edition.