Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 21, 2025

Working with Human Tissues for Translational Cancer Research
Published on: November 26, 2015
The History of Human Subjects Research and Rationale for Institutional Review Board Oversight
Ryan Spellecy1, Kristin Busse2
1Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities and Office of Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Abstract:
The history of human subjects research and the abuses that led to the creation of the United States' (US) regulatory schema for research, which includes institutional review boards (IRBs), is long and complex. However, when one understands the history, one can see direct links between those abuses and the regulations, as well as the ethical principles, contained in the Belmont Report. To that end, we provide a brief analysis of the history of human subjects research and its abuses, including a lesser known case (the atrocities committed by Nazi scientists and physicians during World War II) and infamous cases in the US (including the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and Willowbrook). With that history in hand, we will then seek to understand the regulations that govern human subjects research and the IRB by grounding them both in the ethical principles in the Belmont Report.
More Related Videos
07:32Use of Galvanic Skin Responses, Salivary Biomarkers, and Self-reports to Assess Undergraduate Student Performance During a Laboratory Exam Activity
Published on: February 10, 2016
07:59Transition of Farm Pigs to Research Pigs using a Designated Checklist followed by Initiation of Clicker Training - a Refinement Initiative
Published on: August 21, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Ethics in Research
Drug Regulation
Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients
Preclinical Development: Overview