International Research Ethics Training Program

The proposed CWRU training grant in international research ethics builds upon and expands a highly successful international research training program, funded by the Fogarty International Center for a total of six years, and longstanding relationships with our overseas collaborating institutions. The training program includes trainees from Nigeria, Russia, and Romania in a Master's degree program in Bioethics and, in addition, offers one in-country certificate program per year. The training program consists of a multi- component program to be conducted with overseas collaborators, representing eight countries and territories. The proposed program consists of (1) CWRU-based training of three trainees per year, who will receive an M.A. degree in Bioethics (Nigeria, Russia, and Romania); (2) the conduct of in-country certificate programs related to bioethics (Nigeria, Russia, Romania, and the members of the consortium); (3) faculty- student exchanges (all sites); (4) participation in the authorship and production of a quarterly newsletter addressing ethical issues of mutual interest (all sites); (5) an internet-based mechanism for exchange (all sites). This multi-site, multi-faceted program is designed to provide training in international ethics to professionals from a variety of disciplines to: develop and enhance their ability to teach and conduct research on acute and chronic diseases in developing countries; provide advanced training to professionals in diverse fields who will assume leadership roles in their countries in ethics review and/or the teaching of ethics and/or the conduct of research involving human participants; develop and provide a vehicle for cross- cultural exploration of ethical issues relevant to the research context. The program will enable participants to develop or enhance one of more of the following competencies: (1) to participate actively and/or assume a leadership role on an ethical review committee; (2) to teach international research ethics; (3) to understand clinical ethics, how to translate research into clinical practice, and how clinical practice informs research; (4) to conduct theoretical and/or empirical research in international research ethics; (5) to develop professional networking skills and relationships in the field of research ethics. The program and its courses will be evaluated on a regular basis through course and program evaluations of the trainees, semi-annual evaluations by members of the CWRU and overseas Steering Committees and the International Program Advisory Committee, and an annual evaluation by an independent external evaluator. This training program provides health professionals with the skills necessary to balance ethical concerns with scientific advances to achieve a reasoned approach to the delivery of health care and public health programs, such as disease surveillance and prevention.