Yale, China to Create Bioethics Training Program

Yale University will further its ongoing scientific relationship with China through a newly awarded grant that allows for the development of a bioethics research training program at one of the country’s major medical universities.

The Yale School of Public Health will lead the five-year effort at Central South University, Xiangya School of Medicine in Changsha to train Chinese scientists and health care professionals in the ethical challenges of health related research.

The Yale-China partnership will allow for the development of graduate level curricula in international research ethics; the development of a cohort of Chinese scholars who can teach bioethics to future students; the creation of short courses and workshops on research methods and grant and manuscript writing; the development of enhanced protocols and procedures surrounding human subjects protection; and strengthening the capacity of review boards to review research protocols.

The program was launched with a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center.

“The goal is for the Central South University and its affiliated health professional schools to become a center for excellence for bioethics,” said Kaveh Khoshnood, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the School of Public Health and the project’s principal investigator. “There’s a foundation already there. We want to build on this foundation and enhance it.”

Located in Hunan Province and considered one of China’s leading academic institutions, Central South University has identified an enhanced bioethics program as one of its top priorities. Under the Research Ethics Training and Curriculum Development Program, Chinese scholars will travel to Yale for training and Yale scholars will go to Central South University to offer their expertise on the topic.

China’s increasing participation in international research demands that its research ethics be developed and brought up to speed with its scientific ability. Both academic and policy leaders support the development of ethical research practice that meets international standards. These favorable conditions set the stage for a scale up of China’s current research ethics education capacity.

“Through this fantastic program, numerous experienced experts in research ethics from both America and China will be working together. It will promote the development and dissemination of graduate level curricula in research ethics of Xiangya, and provide extensive training and education to our researchers and health professionals in bioethics,” said Tian Yongquan, MD., Ph.D., vice president of Central South University. “I believe that implementation of this program will definitely benefit Xiangya in conducting the ethical research practice to meet the international standards.”

In addition to the School of Public Health, the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics and the Yale-China Association will be involved in developing the bioethics training program. Scholars from several other universities in the United States will also contribute.

The bioethics training program is a first for Yale, but is only the latest partnership with China that seeks to improve the country’s public health. Yale, for example, is working with Tsinghua University in Beijing to provide management and leadership education for 500 women working in the health care field.

“We hope that in addition to enhancing research ethics capacity at Xiangya, this work can also provide collaborating Yale faculty with insights into the cultural and social contexts in international research and develop appropriate training for Yale students and faculty,” said Hongping Tian, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of Health Programs for the Yale-China Association.