Researching ELSI Research Training

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): As the pace of genetic discoveries increases, so does the need to train researchers who have the knowledge and skills necessary to anticipate, analyze, and address the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of these discoveries. Recognizing the growing need for more well trained ELSI researchers, directives for the recently funded Centers for Excellence in ELSI Research (CEERs) explicitly made training the next generation of ELSI researchers an important goal. To meet this goal, the following question needs to be addressed: What are the domains of knowledge and skills that post-doctoral and graduate trainees need to be able to conduct research on ELSI issues, transcend boundaries between disciplines, and translate research into social policy? The question seems simple, but the answer almost certainly is complex. Researchers are trained in a disciplinary home, usually where their primary academic identity also resides; and training needs may be idiosyncratic based on an individual's research focus and on the expertise and research interests of faculty at the CEER or other institution where the individual is receiving training. Furthermore, despite generous funding over the past 15 years, what constitutes "ELSI research" is contested territory. Given these constraints, is it possible to articulate core competencies or knowledge and skill domains for those interested in conducting ELSI research and entering the professional community of ELSI researchers? The proposed research project is designed to answer this question through the following four specific aims: Specific Aim 1) Examine how ELSI research has been defined over time, through funding priorities, published research, and composition of and instructions to study sections. Specific Aim 2) Determine the assumptions and practices underlying training for persons involved in ELSI research through content review of training program materials, literature, and syllabi; and interviews with stakeholders. Specific Aim 3) Engage ELSI researchers, trainees, and administrators in a series of interactive activities to determine the domains of knowledge and skills that could constitute core competencies for those entering or involved in ELSI research. Specific Aim 4) Conduct an assessment of the perceived usefulness of the identified core competencies, and develop a research evaluation plan to assess their feasibility for training purposes and the utility of such training.