Faculty Achievements - Dr. Celia Fisher chairs SRCD policy committee

The Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, or “Common Rule”, provides the basis for Institutional Review Boards, such as the one at Fordham University, to evaluate research involving infants, children, and adolescents.  It was last revised in 1991 in a time when most research was conducted in universities, colleges, and medical institutions and took place at a single site.

Dr. Celia B. Fisher, Ph.D.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services is proposing to update the Common Rule policies in response to ambiguities in the current framework highlighted by the expansion of human subject research into other disciplines and an increase in multi-site studies.  Any changes to these policies would have a significant impact on institutional research in the social and behavioral sciences involving minors.

Dr. Celia Fisher has recently served as the chairperson of a task force convened by the Society for Research and Child Development (SRCD) charged with the creation of a report that ensures that any proposed changes to the “Common Rules” serve the interests of and do not present barriers to the responsible conduct of socio-behavioral research.  The resulting report, “Preserving and Enhancing the Responsible Conduct of Research Involving Children and Youth - A Response to Proposed Changes in Federal Regulations” provides recommendations to policy makers for ensuring the responsible conduct of child and adolescent research in whatever final regulatory changes are enacted.

In this report, Dr. Fisher and her colleagues note that the regulations as currently specified in the “Common Rule” were originally created with biomedical research in mind and that the application of these policies to social and behavioral research has created barriers to conducting research with children and youth.  

The complete report can be obtained from the SRCD web site.
 
Resources

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects ('Common Rule')

Social Policy Report - “Preserving and Enhancing the Responsible Conduct of Research Involving Children and Youth: A Response to Proposed Changes in Federal Regulations” (PDF)

News Release - HHS announces proposal to improve rules protecting human research subjects

Center for Ethics Education hosts multidisciplinary career panel

Interested in pursuing a career in ethics?  On Thursday, February 7th, the Center for Ethics Education will host a multidisciplinary panel of professionals and Ethics and Society program graduates engaged in or pursuing a variety of ethics-related careers.  Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with panelists.

Panelist will include professionals working at the Families and Work Institute, Montefiore Medical Center, Fordham Law School and Pace Law School, Fordham University’s Conservation Biology Program, Fordham Institutional Review Board, and HIV Research Ethics Training Institute.

This event will be moderated by Dr. Adam Fried, Director of the M.A. in Ethics and Society program.

This free event will take place in the Walsh Library’s O’Hare Special Collections room on Thursday, February 7th, 2013 at 6:30pm. Reception to follow.  RSVP to ethics@fordham.edu or call (718) 817-0926.

Career Advancement Advice

ADP Faculty member and Director of the Center for Ethics Education, Celia Fisher, contributes her professional advice on 4Researchers.

Dr. Fisher offers advice on ways to develop your career in an academic department. Watch the full video here.

To hear her experienced point of view on a variety of professional psychology topics brought to you by 4Researchers, read her complete biography and topic index.

4Researchers provides practical information for conducting research in the real world and general advice for building a research career. Experts in a variety of fields contribute their experience and advice on special topics related to research. This organization is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Learn more about 4Researchers.org