Episode: 28 - Jonathan Kimmelman on Research Ethics and Dilemmas in Clinical Trials

In this month’s episode of the Scope of Things, host Deborah Borfitz gives you the latest news on the fallacy of a survival benefit for cancer patients participating in clinical trials, how and why federally qualified health centers are getting involved in studies, efforts to disrupt the current practice of excluding pregnant and lactating women from participation, great news about the impact of precision medicine on the outcomes of kids suffering from aggressive cancers, and more. Jonathan Kimmelman, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Ethics at McGill University, also joins Deborah to discuss current dilemmas in clinical development and how research standards are trending. Kimmelman talks about the ethical implications when trial sponsors don’t fully disclose how patient input is utilized in drug development, key policies that are necessary and would have a big impact on regulators, and what would-be participants can do to be more informed about trials. 

SHOW NOTES  

News Roundup 

“Participation effect” not a benefit of cancer trials  

• Article in JAMA 
• Article in Annals of Internal Medicine 

CARE for Health initiative of the NIH 

• Editorial in Science   

Integration of clinical trials with healthcare delivery 

• Special communication in JAMA 

FQHCs conducting clinical trials 

• Episode 21 with Javara Medical Director Colleen Purcell Tenan, M.D. 

Factors influencing trial participation by pregnant and lactating women 

• Review in PLOS Medicine 

Flicker stimulation for epilepsy 

• Study in Nature Communications  

Precision medicine for kids with cancer 

• Article in Nature Medicine  

GUEST BIO 

Jonathan Kimmelman, PhD, James McGill Professor of Biomedical Ethics, McGill University 

Jonathan Kimmelman, PhD, is James McGill Professor of Biomedical Ethics at McGill University. His research group, STREAM (Studies in Translation, Ethics and Medicine) uses empirical and theoretical methods to understand the ethical, policy, and scientific dynamics of developing new drugs. Kimmelman received the Maud Menten New Investigator Prize (2006), a CIHR New Investigator Award (2008), a Humboldt Bessel Award (2014), and was elected a Hastings Center Fellow (2018).  He has sat on various advisory bodies within the

The Scope of Things podcast explores clinical research and its possibilities, promise, and pitfalls. Clinical Research News senior writer, Deborah Borfitz, welcomes guests who are visionaries closest to the topics, but who can still see past their piece of the puzzle. Focusing on game-changing trends and out-of-the-box operational approaches in the clinical research field, the Scope of Things podcast is your no-nonsense, insider’s look at clinical research today.