The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the division of Research and Technology Management have developed a Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course. This course will be available to all postdoctoral researchers at the Center, but will be required for postdoctoral researchers during their first year of training, fellows appointed to individual and institutional training grants, clinical research fellows at the discretion of their program directors, as well as first year Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate Students. The aim of the course is to heighten trainees' awareness to ethical considerations relevant to the conduct of research, to inform them of federal, state, and institutional policies and procedures, and to provide them with critical analysis and problem-solving skills for ethical decision making.
The course consists of a self-paced, Web-based tutorial covering the following topics: Research Misconduct (including whistleblowing and dispute resolution), Data Management, Use of Animal Subjects, Use of Human Subjects, Conflicts of Interest, Authorship, Publication and Peer Review, Collaboration, and Mentoring.
In addition, the course includes four face-to-face sessions, which consist of small work groups led by faculty facilitators. Participants must satisfactorily complete the eight Web-based modules and attend all four sessions to receive a certificate of completion.
If you would like more information on Memorial Sloan-Kettering's RCR course, contact Debra Schaller-Demers, Course Director, at schalled@mskcc.org.
