Bioethics and IRBs for Huntington's Disease

Dr. Mark Yarborough, Dean's Professor of Bioethics from UC Davis, joins us to talk about the bioethics of clinical trials--the question of whether new practices in biological research are both moral and ethical. This topic has a huge impact on research currently being done on Huntington's disease. He'll also talk about the challenges of doing clinical trials for Juvenile Huntington's disease. IRBs (Institutional Review Boards) make decisions about whether proposed clinical trials are ethical and whether enough research has been done to minimize the risk to human participants. They also determine whether potential benefits outweigh the risks and help determine the informed consent process for clinical trials. The ultimate goal is to make sure that science is done the "right" way. Mark recently helped plan and co-hosted Herrenhausen Conference: “Lost in the Maze? Navigating Evidence and Ethics in Translational Neuroscience”, February 14 – 16, 2018, Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover, Germany.