The Ethics and Policy Core (EPC)

The ever-growing and evolving HIV epidemic in both the US and the developing world continues to pose numerous critical ethical and policy issues. These are becoming all the more acute as researchers begin work in unfamiliar settings and with new populations in the developing world. Further, given the particular vulnerability of people living with or at high risk of HIV, it is crucial that HIV-related research be conducted according to stringent ethical standards. The Ethics and Policy Core (EPC) enhances the Center's ability to address these issues and contribute to resolving them by fostering and supporting research and scholarship, and consulting with and educating HIV Center Investigators and others.

The EPC engages in three overall functions of providing consultation, fostering education, and conducting empirical research on two broad areas: (1) policy issues at multiple levels – international, national, local, institutional and professional (including policies in various health care institutions and settings), and (2) ethics of research with people who are infected with or at risk for infection with HIV. The EPC builds on the past work of the HIV Center in ethics and policy and will also incorporate new emphases on research ethics and the relationship between policy and economics.  The EPC fosters research that fulfills the highest possible standards of research ethics and integrity and addresses ethical dilemmas concerning HIV research and treatment in diverse settings.

 

Core Members

Robert Klitzman, M.D.: Core Director
Ronald Bayer, Ph.D.: Core Co-Director
Paul Applebaum, M.D.: Core Co-Director

Peter Bearman, Ph.D.
Sheri Glied, Ph.D.
Joshua Graff-Zivin, Ph.D.
Florencia Luna, Ph.D.
David Strauss, M.D.