Ethics and Law Core

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Research, clinical care, and public health interventions for emerging infections and biodefense raise critically important ethical, legal, and social issues. The Policy, Ethics and Law (PEL) core, under the auspices of a multi-disciplinary Coordinating Committee drawn from the participating universities, will invite input from Regional Center of Excellence (RCE)investigators and outside experts. The PEL core will address the following specific aims: 1. Identify and rank for debate and discussion the range and nature of ethical and policy issues that will be encountered while conducting research on emerging infections and biodefense as well as issues relating to clinical care and public health policy; 2. Analyze and debate a selected set of the issues that pose barriers to good research, the delivery of quality clinical care and public health policy related to biodefense and emerging diseases; 3. Provide guidance and consulting services to those involved in the Southeastern Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Diseases (SERCEB). The Coordinating Committee will identify policy, ethical, and legal issues arising in the research of the other cores and plan whether and how to pursue them further. The core will draft white papers for the RCE and for other relevant audiences. Articles may also be submitted to medical, public health, law, or policy journals. The core's Coordinating Committee will advise the Steering Committee for the RCE, and will respond to requests channeled through it for advice from other sources, such as NIAID, CDC, DHHS, OHS, or other organizations. For issues that require resources beyond those provided in this core, the Coordinating Committee may develop, or encourage others to develop, research proposals to secure separate funding for work growing out of the core's activities.