The University of Minnesota’s Research Ethics Week is an annual week-long series of college and department-led educational opportunities focused on professional development and best practices to promote, maintain, and model high standards of ethics and integrity in research. This year, UMN offered its annual Research Ethics Week from March 3-7.
Research Ethics Day
The week’s anchor event, the Research Ethics Day Conference, focused on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in research, analyzing challenges and emerging guidance. Speakers from universities, industry, health care organizations, and government gathered online to explore and debate the issues. The event was organized by the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences with input from University faculty and staff.
A total of 1,740 people from across the country and the globe attended all or part of the conference, and more are expected to view the conference recording or individual segments in the coming months. The University’s Research and Innovation Office (RIO) and The Hormel Institute hosted in-person watch parties.
“This year we have gathered at a very critical juncture, because the rapid advancement in AI technology is reshaping the landscape of research,” Vice President for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya said in his welcoming remarks. “These cutting-edge tools hold tremendous potential to transform the way we design research protocols, analyze data, conduct literature reviews, and accelerate the pace of innovation across diverse sectors.”
Researchers across many disciplines increasingly use AI tools, including large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to support empirical research and data analysis, academic writing, and development of new tools. The broad reach of AI in research has raised pressing ethical questions about scientific integrity, authorship, data privacy, bias, equity, and the capacity of IRBs to provide effective oversight.
Speakers included Jeannette M. Wing, PhD; Mary L. Gray, PhD; Judy Wawira Gichoya, MD, MS; Leo Anthony Celi, MD, MSc, MPH; Isaac S. Kohane, MD, PhD; David B. Resnik, JD, PhD; Vardit Ravitsky, PhD; Alex John London, PhD; Bradley Malin, PhD; and Effy Vayena, PhD. Each session was moderated by an AI expert from the University of Minnesota.
The speakers addressed how AI is used in research and may be used in the future, the challenges to research ethics and integrity, current guidance on using AI in research and publication, the problem of bias in AI, how to determine when use of AI constitutes research with human participants and requires consent, and strategies for effective oversight of AI in research. The conference offered recommendations for researchers, students, administrators, and IRB professionals on how to ensure ethical use of AI in research.
”By convening top speakers from across the world, we were able to map the issues and debate the emerging recommendations,” said Susan Wolf, Regents Professor and Chair of the Consortium on Law and Values. “Many universities are still in the process of formulating guidance and journals are not yet in full agreement. This conference took an important step forward by directly addressing the responsibilities that researchers, scholars, journals, and oversight authorities must discharge to ensure integrity in research.”
The conference video is available now on the Consortium’s website.
The conference was sponsored by the Research and Innovation Office (RIO), organized by the Consortium on Law and Values, and co-sponsored by the Masonic Cancer Center and Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
2025 Research Ethics Week the Most Successful Yet
This year’s Research Ethics Week saw a record number of sessions held across the University—18, including the Research Ethics Day Conference—and topics included environmental ethics, compensating community partners, avoiding predatory academic journals, and ethical research collaboration with Indigenous communities.
Several sessions outside the Research Ethics Day Conference focused on AI-related issues, including troubleshooting code with AI, oversight of AI in clinical research, AI in education and human development research, and the perils of AI creating a global “monoculture.”
“We have been very impressed by all of the presentations from a variety of schools and colleges on a broad range of topics during this year’s Research Ethics Week,” said Dani Rintala, director of Research Integrity and Compliance, who helped coordinate Research Ethics Week sessions with University units, colleges, and campuses. “While research integrity and ethics are a year-round, everyday concern, the breadth and depth of topics covered this year and the enthusiastic participation in these sessions help deepen a culture where researchers not only do the right thing, but also ask the right questions about emerging issues, such as those posed by AI.”
Inaugural Animal Welfare Symposium
This year’s programming also included an inaugural animal welfare symposium that brought together faculty, research staff, students, post-doctoral fellows, Research Animal Resources animal care and veterinary staff, compliance officers, and research leaders. They discussed critical issues at the juncture of animal care and welfare, compassion fatigue, and scientific excellence.
“It was gratifying to see people with many different roles in the animal research community come together to learn and discuss issues of animal welfare, which is a key topic within research ethics,” said Kim Kirkpatrick, associate vice president for research and innovation and one of the organizers of the symposium. “Research with animals is highly regulated and premised on ‘the three R’s’: replacement, reduction, and refinement. These are principles intended to promote ethical and humane practices in the use of animals while still allowing for important scientific inquiries into human and animal health.”
The symposium highlighted the work of Melanie Graham, MPH, PhD, professor of Surgery. She is at the forefront of innovative research that could revolutionize treatments for conditions like muscular dystrophy and diabetes. Her line of research brings new hope for transformative therapies that could benefit both humans and animals.
At the same time, Dr. Graham and her team have established an internationally recognized animal welfare program designed to improve animal well-being and reduce the number of animals used in biomedical research.
“Our program requires significant investment and commitment, but it's driven by the dedication of those with specialized expertise who care deeply about both animals and people. We’ve shown that when we maximize animal welfare, we enhance the accuracy and quality of our research, contributing to successful clinical translation for patients who are waiting,” said Dr. Graham. “It was an honor to present our work and share the valuable insights we've gained with such a diverse and engaged segment of the research community. The opportunity to contribute to this collective effort is both humbling and motivating as we continue to advance our shared goals.”
UMN Commitment to Research Ethics is Center Stage
The University of Minnesota's Research Ethics Week provided a broad range of opportunities for the research community to engage in robust dialogue about important ethical issues in research, from the ethical use of AI in research to ensuring animal welfare to protections for human research participants. These comprehensive presentations and valuable educational opportunities reinforce the University’s commitment to research integrity and shaping a future where ethical considerations are paramount in scientific advancement and innovation.