Responsible  Conduct of Research (RCR) Groups

Stuart Ravnik, PHD, Director

The graduate school’s Division of Basic Science sponsors a division-wide course designed to promote responsible conduct of research and professional development. Activities will also enhance communication skills among students in the biomedical sciences and with those from the other two schools. First-year students in the Division are required to enroll in the two-semester course for which they are assigned to small discussion groups led by faculty facilitators. The facilitators also act as advisors during the time when students are carrying out laboratory rotations, before selecting a research mentor and graduate program.

Course topics include research ethics, collaborative research, team-building, use of human and animal subjects, conflict of interest, peer review and technology transfer. Sessions take place twice monthly on Wednesdays from 1-2:30 PM, typically starting with a 30-minute topic introduction followed by breakout for small group discussion. This scheduling
mirrors small group meetings of the medical school’s Academic Colleges and the health professions school’s IDEAL, providing the curricular structure for joint interprofessional activities among all three schools, which is the foundation for Convergence.