Episode 8: Ethics in Research — IRBs and the Common Rule Explained

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) watch over human subjects research to ensure ethical compliance. Ubiquitous in medical research, IRBs may still baffle those working in legal research. This week, in the first of a series of podcast talks demystifying IRBs, Proof Over Precedent host Jim Greiner talks with IRB expert Shannon Sewards about the importance of IRBs and the Common Rule in ensuring ethical research practices. Among the topics:

• Understanding IRBs and the Common Rule
• Historical context of medical research
• Adapting medical-based regulations to legal studies
  

Read the corresponding blog post.

Speakers:

• Shannon Sewards, Director of the Human Research Protection Program, Dartmouth Health; former Director, Harvard University Area IRB
• Jim Greiner, Honorable S. William Green Professor of Public Law at Harvard Law School; Faculty Director of the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School

Resources mentioned:

• Institutional Review Board FAQs
• 45 Code of Federal Regulations Part 46, Subpart A [“Common Rule”]
• Nuremberg Trials
• Tuskegee Experiment
• Willowbrook Experiment
• Beecher Article
• Belmont Report

Share feedback and relevant topics you would like the A2J Lab to discuss: [email protected]

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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal