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Magdalena Guraiib M, Ross AL, Frewer A, Sprumont D, Shamsi Gooshki E, Dzenowagis J, Alois Reis A. Oversight of Dual-Use Research: What Role for Ethics Committees? Health Secur 2024. [PMID: 38838255 DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Guidance Framework for the Responsible Use of the Life Sciences addresses the governance of biorisks, including dual-use research, for countries. It emphasizes engaging multisectoral stakeholders such as governments, scientific bodies, health and research institutes, standard-setting organizations, funding bodies, and others. Ethics constitutes a key component of the framework. Given the high social impact of such research and the importance of trust, risk, and benefit, national ethics committees could make a valuable contribution by providing ethical guidance in the decisionmaking process. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of national ethics committees in the context of governance and oversight of dual-use research at the national level. We conducted a landscape analysis of the activities of ethics committees in dual-use research oversight. We also searched the WHO database on National Ethics Committees for publications related to dual-use research and/or misuse of life sciences research and gathered additional documentation from national ethics committees websites and through author contacts. Results showed that in the context of the wide range of oversight mechanisms for dual-use research in countries, national ethics committees have contributed to guiding policy and assessing dual-use research risks in only a limited number of countries. Recommendations from those countries include establishing a multistakeholder, coordinated oversight mechanism at the country level; strengthening international linkages to guide, harmonize, and reinforce national and international efforts; and involving ethics committees as an expert resource in the governance and oversight process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Magdalena Guraiib
- Maria M. Guraiib, MPH, is a Technical Officer, in the Research for Health Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Anna Laura Ross
- Anna Laura Ross, PhD, is Unit Head, Emerging Technology, Research Prioritisation and Support Unit, in the Research for Health Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Frewer
- Andreas Frewer, MD, MA, is a Professor for Ethics in Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Dominique Sprumont
- Dominique Sprumont, DrJur, is a Professor, Institute of Health Law, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, and President of the Research Ethics Committee of the Canton of Vaud, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ehsan Shamsi Gooshki
- Ehsan S. Gooshki, PhD, MD, is an Associate Professor, Medical Ethics and History of Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and a Lecturer, Monash Bioethics Center, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Joan Dzenowagis
- Joan Dzenowagis, PhD, is a Member, World Health Organization Ethics Review Committee, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Alois Reis
- Andreas Reis, MD, MSc, is Co-Unit Head, Health Ethics and Governance Unit, in the Research for Health Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
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Yoshizawa G, Shinomiya N, Kawamoto S, Kawahara N, Kiga D, Hanaki KI, Minari J. Limiting open science? Three approaches to bottom-up governance of dual-use research of concern. Pathog Glob Health 2023:1-10. [PMID: 37791645 DOI: 10.1080/20477724.2023.2265626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Governing dual-use research of concern (DURC) in the life sciences has become difficult owing to the diversification of scientific domains, digitalization of potential threats, and the proliferation of actors. This paper proposes three approaches to realize bottom-up governance of DURC from laboratory operation to institutional decision-making levels. First, a technological approach can predict and monitor the dual-use nature of the research target pathogens and their information. Second, an interactive approach is proposed in which diverse stakeholders proactively discuss and examine dual-use issues through research practice. Third, a personnel approach can identify the right persons involved in DURC. These approaches suggest that, going beyond self-governance by researchers, collaborative and networked governance involving diverse actors should become essential. This mode of governance can also be seen in light of the management of research use. Therefore, program design by funding agencies and publication screening by journal publishers continuously contribute to governance at the meso-level. Bottom-up governance may be realized by using an appropriately integrated design of these three approaches at the micro-level, such as dual-use prediction and monitoring, stakeholder dialogue, and background checks. Given that the term 'open science' has been promoted to the research community as part of top-down governance, paying due attention on site to research subjects, research practices, and persons involved in research will provide an opportunity to develop a more socially conscious open science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Go Yoshizawa
- Innovation System Research Center, Kwansei Gakuin University, Hyogo, Japan
| | | | - Shishin Kawamoto
- Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Naoto Kawahara
- Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Daisuke Kiga
- Center for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ken-Ichi Hanaki
- Management Department of Biosafety, Laboratory Animal, and Pathogen Bank, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Jusaku Minari
- Uehiro Research Division for iPS Cell Ethics, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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Pannu J, Palmer MJ, Cicero A, Relman DA, Lipsitch M, Inglesby T. Strengthen oversight of risky research on pathogens. Science 2022; 378:1170-1172. [PMID: 36480598 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf6020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Policy reset and convergence on governance are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaspreet Pannu
- Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Megan J Palmer
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Center for International Security and Cooperation, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Anita Cicero
- Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David A Relman
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Center for International Security and Cooperation, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Infectious Diseases Section, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Marc Lipsitch
- Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Departments of Epidemiology and Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tom Inglesby
- Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Parker JC. Bioethical Boundaries, Critiques of Current Paradigms, and the Importance of Transparency. THE JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND PHILOSOPHY 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmp/jhab042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
This issue of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy is dedicated to topics in clinical ethics with essays addressing clinician participation in state sponsored execution, duties to decrease ecological footprints in medicine, the concept of caring and its relationship to conscientious refusal, the dilemmas involved in dual use research, a philosophical and practical critique of principlism, conundrums that arise when applying surrogate decision-making models to patients with moderate intellectual disabilities, the phenomenology of chronic disease, and ethical concerns surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. Throughout the issue, the themes of conceptual and moral boundaries in bioethics, critiques of current clinical ethics paradigms, and the importance of transparency are prominent.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Clint Parker
- East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
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Beskow LM, Hammack-Aviran CM, Brelsford KM, O’Rourke PP. Expert Perspectives on Oversight for Unregulated mHealth Research: Empirical Data and Commentary. THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS : A JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS 2020; 48:138-146. [PMID: 32342753 PMCID: PMC7783510 DOI: 10.1177/1073110520917039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In qualitative interviews with a diverse group of experts, the vast majority believed unregulated researchers should seek out independent oversight. Reasons included the need for objectivity, protecting app users from research risks, and consistency in standards for the ethical conduct of research. Concerns included burdening minimal risk research and limitations in current systems of oversight. Literature and analysis supports the use of IRBs even when not required by regulations, and the need for evidence-based improvements in IRB processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Beskow
- Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN)
| | | | - Kathleen M. Brelsford
- Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN)
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Fritsch J. [Ethics committees in security-relevant research according to the recommendations of Leopoldina and the German Research Foundation]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 2019; 62:744-750. [PMID: 31069418 DOI: 10.1007/s00103-019-02954-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The scientific freedom protected by the German Basic Law is a prerequisite for the progress and prosperity of society. However, free research is also associated with risks resulting from the fact that useful research results and methods can be abused, for example as weapons of war or as a means of criminal or terrorist activities.According to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the German Research Foundation (DFG), meaningful control of these risks cannot be achieved through further legislation but only through appropriate awareness raising and self-governance tools within the scientific community. In order to make this more concrete, both organizations jointly published the "Recommendations for Handling Security-Relevant Research" in 2014. For the effective and sustainable implementation of these recommendations, the DFG and Leopoldina established the Joint Committee on the Handling Security-Relevant Research.In Germany, there are already numerous commissions with different names that deal with ethical issues in science. For some years now, in addition to the most numerous medical ethics committees primarily responsible for medical research on human beings and those committees supporting the authorities in deciding on the approval of animal experiments to protect animal welfare, an increasing number of so-called committees for ethics in security-relevant research have been set up. Following the recommendations of the joint committee of the DFG and Leopoldina, these committees advise researchers on site on questions concerning security-relevant aspects of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Fritsch
- Gemeinsamer Ausschuss zum Umgang mit sicherheitsrelevanter Forschung, Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina, c/o ABC Business Center, Friedrichstr. 79, 10117, Berlin, Deutschland.
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