ethical difficulties of international research
Please describe the ethical difficulties of international research. How would you reconcile the
various ethical visions in an international research project? Please make use of the paper “What
makes clinical research in developing countries ethical? The benchmarks of ethical research”
written by Emanuel EJ, Wendler D, Killen J and Grady C.
2. Present elaborated arguments to sustain and oppose the use of animals in research.
3. Present a short historical overview of the research with human stem cells in the US, mentioning
the crucial events in the field, both scientific and regulatory.
4. Debate the moral status of the embryo. Identify ethical arguments for and against the use of
human embryos in research.
5. Define the following notions and elaborate on their ethical implications:
A. Stem Cell Tourism.
B. Therapeutic Misconception
C. The Clinical Translation of Stem Cells
6. After defining Biobanks and Virtual Biorepositories, briefly point out the ethical challenges of
storing and using stored human tissue in research.
7. Starting from the case of Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, ascertain the
economic aspects of research and explain why these are relevant to the field of Research Ethics.
8. Elaborate on the elements of Scientific Misconduct making use of the Legal and Ethical
documents provided in the syllabus.
9. Choose and present an example of Conflict of Interest in biomedical research and identify the
ethical implications of this concept.
10. After following the course on The Ethics of Biomedical Science Research, propose and present
one topic, case, notion or concept that sparked your interest and provide an analysis from the
existing literature. Also, bring your own opinion and conceptualization of the identified subject.
Examination rubric:
A coherent, complex and detailed answer will receive 3 points. Precision and conciseness should be
key elements in your answers (Do not extend one argument for more than 2 sentences).
The proper use of concepts and specialty language will obtain 2 additional points.
Out of each answer 3 points will be granted or taken upon the use of references.
Use resources within the syllabus and outside of it to compose your answer. The use of references will
be graded as follows:
1. Presented information is appropriately documented
2. Enough outside information used to clearly represent a research process
3. Demonstrates correct use of paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting
Please try to answer in the space allocated for each question (two questions/page).
This final exam makes up for 30 % of your final grade. Each question will be scored with 8 points. The
grading will start from 40 points, with a total of 200 points. This exam requires the use of language and
concepts presented in class and the reading material.
