Ethics Training Requirements

Background

Based on guidelines from the National Academy of Sciences, regulations from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, and UCSD, the UCSD Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight (ESCRO) Committee is charged with overseeing a requirement for ethics training.

At UCSD, the focus of this requirement is on individuals, rather than on protocols submitted for review. Protocols can be approved, but individuals are not authorized to work on those protocols unless they have completed the appropriate training requirements. Also, although training requirements will be fulfilled by individuals, the purpose of the requirement is to foster a community environment in which the ethical, legal, and social dimensions of human embryonic stem cell research are widely discussed and understood.

Requirement

Effective April 11, 2007 (and amended October 10, 2007), the UCSD Stem Cell Oversight Working Group adopted this training requirement. Effective December 15, 2007, a common version of this requirement was adopted by the Burnham Institute for Biomedical Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute, and UCSD. A complete description of the initial and continuing education ethics requirements can be found on the website of the San Diego Research Ethics Consortium at: http://sdrec.ucsd.edu/requirements.html

For more information about stem cell ethics training requirements, please contact stemcells@ucsd.edu, (858) 822-2647.