Definitions
Lab Dilemmas
Famous COI Cases
Handling Conflicts
100

This can impair impartiality and objectivity as well as incur an give an unfair competitive advantage to an individual or group.

What is a Conflict of Interest?

100

A PI pushes the lab to use one company’s software but does not mention they are paid to give workshops for that company.

What is a conflict of interest?

100
In 1967, a review secretly funded by this industry downplayed the link between its product and heart disease, shifting blame toward dietary fat instead.

What is the Sugar Industry?

100

Report financial ties that could influence their work.

What is conflict of interest disclosure?

200

This occurs when personal beliefs might interfere with objectivity.

What is a conflicts of conscience?

200

A graduate student is told to help with an advisor’s startup project, even though it is unrelated to the student’s thesis or grant.

What is a conflict of commitment?

200

For decades, this industry funded scientific studies by independent scientists and spent a massive amount of money on disinformation campaigns to cast doubt on evidence which linked its products to cancer and other health risks.

What is the Tobacco Industry?

200

Step away from a decision when you have a personal interest involved.

What is recusal?

300

This occurs when someone supervises or makes work-related decisions involving a relative, friend, or close acquaintance.

What is a personal conflicts of interest?

300

A faculty member reviews a conference abstract from a close collaborator whose work could strengthen the reviewer’s own grant.

What is a conflict of interest in review?

300

This 18 year old participant's death in a gene therapy trial in 1999 led to scrutiny after it was revealed that the lead researcher had financial ties to the company sponsoring the therapy.

Who is Jesse Gelsinger?

300

Get approval from your institution before doing outside work like consulting.

What is approval (or prior approval)?

400

This occurs when an institution or individual seeks to gain financial interest by means of pharmaceutical or medical device companies therefore changing treatment strategies.

What is a clinical conflict of interest?

400

A postdoc paid from a grant does regular consulting during weekdays and answers company emails while working in the lab.

What is a conflict of commitment?

400

This pharmaceutical company funded a clinical trial involving participant Dan Markingson, raising concerns due to financial ties between the investigator and the study sponsor.

What is AstraZeneca?

400

Limit outside work so it does not interfere with your main research job.

What is conflict of commitment management?

500

This is the result of a university, hospital or company withholding, altering, or otherwise fabricating data to curry favor with a funding institute be it governmental or private.

What is an institutional/organizational conflict of interest?

500

A PI delays reporting negative results about a company-linked therapy while being named on a related patent application.

What is a conflict of interest tied to intellectual property?

500

This physician's 1998 study falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism and was later retracted after undisclosed financial ties to litigation lawyers were revealed.

Who is Andrew Wakefield?

500

Have others review your work to reduce bias caused by personal interests.

What is independent oversight?