All students complete this course in the first year.

The Tri-Institutional program in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) stems from a longstanding collaboration by three neighboring institutions, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and The Rockefeller University. Through the RCR program, students gain a working understanding of how to recognize and deal with issues of research integrity as they arise. This collaborative effort spans over ten years and, as a result, students benefit from a wide range of faculty members' experience and perspectives. Designed in consultation with Michael Kalichman and Francis Macrina, this course depends on resources derived from the Responsible Conduct of Research Education Consortium (RCREC). This is a well-designed course and a required one for first-year students in Gerstner Sloan-Kettering.

The course's primary objectives are to heighten student trainees' awareness to the nuances of ethical considerations they'll need to be aware of as they conduct research; provide trainees with the tools they need for ethical decision-making, such as critical analysis and problem-solving skills; and inform trainees of all federal, state, and institutional policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to the ethical conduct of research.P>

Through a series of face-to-face sessions plus an online component, trainees participate in this Web-based course consisting of case studies and mini-exams. Topic areas include research misconduct (with a discussion of whistle blowing); data management; ethical use of animal subjects; ethical use of human subjects; conflicts of interest and commitment; manuscript authorship; the peer-review process and preparing a manuscript for publication; research collaboration, and the mentoring relationship. Face-to-face sessions begin with an initial orientation session, followed by a period in which participants are placed into small working groups to perform processing exercises and for plenary discussion meetings. Participants also present and debate two case studies in which different groups are assigned alternate points of view to argue.

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