Program Overview

The BRI program meets the PHS requirement for instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research in National Research Service Award Institutional Training Grants (NIH Guide, 1994). The program covers the following topics (representing five of the seven required topics) described in the NIH Guide:

  • Conflict of interest
  • Data acquisition and ownership
  • Peer review
  • Responsible authorship
  • Research misconduct

Note: Each BRI lecturer will also be asked to incorporate explicit reference to researcher/trainee responsibilities and/or collaborative science.  These two topics are not currently required by NIH; however, they were included in a list of required topics prepared by NIH in 2000 (subsequently suspended) and inclusion of these topics is the national norm for RCR training.  Discussion of many of the required topics is incomplete without reference to these issues.

  1. The two additional required RCR topics are: policies regarding the use of human and animal subjects; these are required only when directly applicable to the trainee’s work.  These topics are covered through existing UW training programs.
  2. We offer three rounds of BRI case discussion groups each summer.  Each case discussion group will include cases covering two required RCR topics and one non-required topics – e.g., cases in a given session might address conflict of interest, peer review and collaborative science.  Discussion groups also address the scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research. This approach provides trainees with useful redundancy in case review and acknowledges the many overlaps in RCR topics.

For those seeking more resources and guidance on a topic, please see the BRI resources website for links to local and national policies, sample cases with discussion, and current articles.

Please check with the Principal Investigator of the grant on which you are supported to determine the number of lectures and discussion groups required to satisfy the NIH requirement.