Research Ethics

All Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences students and postdoctoral scholars are required to become certified in Research Ethics. Three types of certification may be required depending on the type of research that the trainee will undertake:

1) Responsible Conduct of Research, Part 1 and Part 2

There are two required courses on the Responsible Conduct of Research. The first course (Responsible Conduct of Research, Part 1, GSB601) is required of all first-year doctoral students in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. It is a ½ credit course offered in September each year. GSB601 provides students opportunities to recognize and solve ethical problems in the responsible conduct of research. Major NIH required topics include those relevant for graduate students at this stage of training. The second course (Responsible Conduct of Research, Part 2, GSB602) is required of first-year students in the PHS PhD program and third-year students in the BBS and BCCB PhD programs. Students in the MSCI and Millenium PhD programs fulfill their required responsible conduct of research training by completing the five 2-hour sessions offered by the Office of Post-doctoral Scholars.

2) Using Animals in Biomedical Research

Presented by the UMass Chan IACUC (Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee). This curriculum is mandatory for all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who undertake research with vertebrate animals. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows must complete this training during the first semester in which they engage in research projects involving animal subjects.

3) Human Subjects Research

Institutional Review Board Training made available via the CITI program. This curriculum is mandatory for all graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who undertake human subjects research. Trainees must complete this curriculum during the first semester in which they engage in research involving human subjects.