Ethics in Research: Relevance for Nephrology

Research is crucial to progress in nephrology. It is important that studies are conducted rigorously from the scientific perspective, as well as in adherence to ethical standards. Traditional clinical research places a high value on individual research subject autonomy. Research questions often include the clinical effectiveness of new interventions studied under highly controlled conditions. Such research has brought the promise of new game-changers in nephrology, such as the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors. Implementation research takes such knowledge further and investigates how to translate it into broader-scale policy and practice, to achieve swift and global uptake, with a focus on justice and equity. Newer challenges arising globally in research ethics include those relating to oversight of innovation, biobanking and big data, human-challenge studies, and research during emergencies. This article details the history of clinical research ethics and the role of research ethics committees, describes the evolving spectrum of biomedical research in human medicine, and presents emerging clinical research ethics issues using illustrative examples and a hypothetical case study. It is imperative that researchers and research ethics committees are well versed in the ethical principles of all forms of human research such that research is conducted to the highest standards and that effective interventions can be implemented at scale as rapidly as possible.