Teaching Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR): A Resource Guide for Professional Science Master’s Degree Programs

Case Studies from Medical Physics

Case: Data Management Challenges

Discipline: Medical Physics
Title: Data Management Challenges
Author: Steven Goetsch, Ph.D.

Dr. Corn is a virus researcher at the University of Wisconsin, where university regulations forbid acceptance of research support for any project unless the results of the research can be published in the open literature. Dr. Maize is a virologist at MIT, which routinely does secret research for the federal government. They independently discover a mutation in a very virulent virus, which usually gives rise to small human outbreaks with few deaths because it does not spread easily from person to person and cannot survive outside a host. The mutation allows the virus to spread through the air, making it a potentially very dangerous infectious agent, like smallpox. Dr. Corn insists on publication in the open literature, since this could lead to creation of effective vaccines, while Dr. Maize wishes to keep the discovery secret due to the danger of “weaponizing” this virus. Dr. Maize threatens to bring in Homeland Security to seize Dr. Corn’s research notebooks and samples. Who is right? How should this be resolved? The famous Asilomar Conference in northern California in 1975 brought together biologist, lead by Paul Berg, who voluntarily agreed to guidelines on research in recombinant DNA to ensure the safety of their work. Should another conference be called to discuss this work and write new guidelines?

Analysis:

·  Parties – Who is involved?

·  Actions – What are the possible options?

·  Consequences – What are the potential consequences?

·  Obligations – What are the obligations?

Teaching Questions:

·  How is the public good involved when scientists discover something that could potentially be a “weapon of mass destruction”?

·  Is it conscionable to discover a deadly virus or mutation and then make a great deal of money by discovering a treatment or prevention for the virus?

·  Weaponization of viruses can lead to weapons of mass destruction OR it can lead to antidotes in case someone else makes the same discovery and is prepared to use it as a weapon. Does this argument justify research into deadly viruses?

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