Caribbean Research Ethics Education Initiative (CREEi)

Windward Islands Research & Ed Fdn, Great River NY

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle): Philpott-Jones, Sean PROJECT SUMMARY Clarkson University, in partnership with St. George's University (SGU) in Grenada and the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) in Mexico, currently offers a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogarty International Center (FIC)-supported graduate level online/onsite certificate program to build research ethics capacity in the independent low- and middle-income countries that border the Caribbean Sea. That program, the Caribbean Research Ethics Education Initiative (CREEi) is now in its fifth year. By the end of the current funding cycle this program will have graduated 72 trainees from 17 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panamá, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. An addition 8 trainees will complete the program by June 2019. Additionally, 17 alumni have or continue to receive additional training and education in research ethics (a Master’s of Science in Bioethics [Research Ethics]) through the Bioethics Program of Clarkson University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Program and alumni accomplishments of note include: establishing the first bioethics center in Mexico (the Unidad de Bioética at UAQ); serving on national and international ethics commissions; taking policy positions in several government ministries and regional organizations; publishing numerous peer-reviewed papers, chapters and books on research ethics; obtaining external funding for ethics-related projects; organizing and hosting conferences and workshops on research ethics; and developing and teaching new onsite and online courses on research ethics and scientific integrity at degree-granting institutions throughout the Caribbean. The Clarkson-SGU-UAQ partnership is applying for a five-year extension to educated an additional 45 trainees, develop new two-year twelve-course Master’s in Bioethics programs at SGU and UAQ, to support the network of 72 alumni and 8 trainees in their efforts to develop and strengthen research ethics infrastructure at home, to provide additional training and capacity building activities to local stakeholders through a series of intensive onsite workshops, to support the Unidad de Bioética as a center of excellence in Mexico, and to establish the new Center for Global Bioethics as a center of excellence in Grenada. Select trainees and alumni will also have opportunities to: 1) serve as mentors for future trainees; 2) accept positions as faculty in the CREEi program; and 3) apply for small in-country research and training grants. The current program will also be changed to: 1) revise and update the curriculum in response to internal and external reviews, and to create free-standing Master’s programs at SGU and UAQ; 2) create a single bilingual training program using simultaneous translation for all courses in order to promote cross-cultural and trans-linguistic learning and new opportunities for collaboration in the region; and 3) provide additional training in policy and pedagogy so that trainees are better equipped to be research ethicists and educators, advocates for human research and animal subject protection, and institutional and national leaders in their home countries. OMB No. 0925-0001/0002 (Rev. 01/18 Approved Through 03/31/2020) Page Continuation Format Page