Research Ethics Consultation Service

The RECS supports Pitt researchers and scholars by helping them think through ethical and conceptual issues arising in their research. It complements compliance-focused activities by assisting in identifying and addressing ethical issues. However, the RECS is not a replacement for oversight committees or regulatory bodies, and it does not substitute for reporting concerns to the appropriate University offices. The RECS serves the entire Pitt research ecosystem, including trainees, investigators, scholars, research administrators, and members of regulatory bodies. Request a consultation below.

Request a consultation

To request a consultation, click here.

What is research ethics consultation?

Research ethics consultation is a voluntary resource for all members of Pitt’s research community. The objective of a research ethics consultation is not to ensure compliance with research policies nor to investigate violations of research integrity, but to help promote ethically sound research by exploring researchers’ ethical questions with them.

Research ethics questions can arise at any stage of research, from framing a research question to planning a study, writing a research proposal, creating or composing work, or communicating research results. They can concern a specific study or an entire research program. They can include more specific or more general ethical questions, as well as social or philosophical questions or questions with ethical and scientific dimensions. Research ethics questions may concern, for instance, the social value and harms of research, scientific and ethical tradeoffs in study design, research involving vulnerable populations or challenging settings, consent for research, data integrity and privacy, the fair conduct of research, ethical and social implications of research results, and broader ethical or conceptual questions raised by research.

For example…

• When is existing scientific evidence insufficient, such that further research on a topic is ethically and socially warranted?
• Who should investigators enroll in their research and who should they consult in research planning so that all relevant interests and voices are considered?
• How should we consider risks to people not enrolled in a research study (family members, community members, researchers, clinicians, current and future generations)?
• How should we think about research concepts – such as research, consent, fairness, harm, benefit, data, or evidence – across the sciences and humanities, particularly in emerging research fields and research contexts?

A research ethics consultation typically involves one or more conversations with members of the RECS. Our consultants collectively cover many areas of expertise, including: clinical, public health, and health sciences research; humanities and social science research; basic and applied/translational research; and quantitative, qualitative, and theoretical methods. Research ethics consultations are confidential within limits set by law and institutional policy.

The RECS was recently featured an article in PittWire.

The RECS is supported by Pitt’s Research, Ethics & Society Initiative. Further research ethics resources can be found under the Research, Ethics and Society panel on the top-right of this page.

Consultants

RECS Director
	Jonathan Fuller, PhD, MD Associate Professor of History and Philosophy of Science Clinical trials; meta-research and research synthesis; medical education research; diagnostic excellence research; dementia and Alzheimer’s research; research involving the recently deceased; research during pandemics or involving pandemic-potential pathogens; risk communication/communicating research results
Consultants
	Michael Deem, PhD  Associate Professor of Bioethics and Human Genetics Clinical, genetic/genomic, pediatric, and public health research
	Brenda Diergaarde, PhD Associate Professor of Human Genetics Research involving human subjects (observational and clinical trials) and/or biological samples, epidemiology, basic/laboratory science (including research involving nonhuman animals
	Bridget Keown, PhD   Lecturer in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Bias in research, archival research, oral history research
	Paula Leslie, PhD, MA Consultant Scholar  Health services, qualitative, survey, behavioral, and basic science research
	Yu-Ru Lin, PhD Professor, Informatics and Networked Systems, School of Computing & Information Computational social science, network science, and data science to study social behavior, cyber-social influence, and the ethics and accountability of human-AI ecosystems
	Judith Navratil, MA Coordinator, The Pittsburgh Study, Department of Pediatrics Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine Pediatric, community-engaged, behavioral, or health services research; research with vulnerable subjects or prisoners; informed consent for research; and complex issues in IRB protocols
	Lisa Nelson, PhD, JD Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Research involving data privacy or social media, or research on those topics
	Lisa S. Parker, PhD Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote Professor of Bioethics Genetic/genomic research, mental health research, neuroengineering research, precision medicine
	Amin Rahimian, PhD Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering Data disclosure control and data privacy, statistical methods and privacy-enhancing technologies for data collection, data management & sharing plans and data compliance
	Melissa Ratajeski, MLIS, AHIP, RLAT   Assistant Director for Data and Publishing Services, Health Sciences Library System Data management and sharing, nonhuman animal welfare
	Jennifer Burgher Seaman, PhD Assistant Professor of Acute & Tertiary Care, School of Nursing Behavioral, critical care, qualitative, and survey research, and clinical trials
	Valerie Swigart, PhD, RN, CRNP Professor Emeritus of Health Promotion & Development, School of Nursing Qualitative and mixed method research
	Ritu Thamman, MD Clinical Instructor in Medicine Research relating to COVID-19 and/or cardiovascular diseases, and outcome trials
	Mark Wicclair, PhD Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Institute for Bioethics Research involving the recently deceased
	Jamie Zelazny, PhD, MPH, RN Assistant Professor of Health & Community Systems, School of Nursing Psychiatric/mental health (pediatric and adult), epidemiology, survey, and behavioral research; suicide, social media, eHealth, and clinical trials

Contact

For more information or to request a consultation: RECS@pitt.edu