All students participating in the YEAR Program will be required to take courses in ethics and the responsible conduct of research. Several courses are offered:

"Ethics and Issues in Veterinary Medicine" (437A)
Jerrold Tannenbaum, Instructor
This course is offered in the first academic quarter to the first year veterinary students. UCD veterinary students will have taken VMD 473A during their first year professional veterinary curriculum, and thus prior to matriculation into the YEAR Program. However, non-UCD students may not have taken a similar course, and none will have been exposed to a formal course on Responsible Conduct of Research. Since this is an important issue that should be instilled early in the research training experience, summer trainees will be introduced to issues of research ethics and responsible conduct of research during the YEAR Orientation Week.

"Philosophy and Ethics of Biomedical Science" (PMI 298)
D.W. Wilson, C.G. Plopper and D.M. Hyde, Instructors
This seminar is directed towards graduate students in pharmacology and toxicology or comparative pathology who are preparing for PhD qualifying examinations. It is required for students supported by the Environmental Pathology and Comparative Medicine Training Grants. Topics to be covered include nature of the qualifying exam, grant writing, peer review, organization of NIH and its institutes, scientific integrity, intellectual property and patents. Current issues in biomedical science will be presented in case studies of scientific misconduct investigation, relationship between NIH, Congress and the general public, funding for biomedical science, direct and indirect costs, GLPA guidelines for data verification and animal welfare. The format of this course is a seminar series with presentations by faculty and guest speakers followed by discussions of relevant current events by graduate students. Student presentations of conduct of science issues are required for one unit credit. The goal of this course is to teach graduate students the process of scientific discovery and its communication. Grant writing, peer review of grants and papers, organization of NIH and its institutes and practical aspects of the granting process are presented by experienced faculty and administrative officers of the university. The relative benefits of collaborative and interdisciplinary research as well as the risks in oversight of research performed in multiple laboratories are discussed. Topics in this course include the following: Introduction to Authorship, Documentation of Primary Data, Structure of NIH, Peer Review, Animal Welfare Issues and Processes, Intellectual Property, Collegiality vs. Protectionism in Collaborative Research, GLP Guidelines in Research, Role of Pathology in Biotechnology Development, and The Academic Job Search.

"Scientific Professionalism and Integrity" (GGG 296)
Offered by the Genetics Graduate Group
Topics include scientific conduct, manuscript preparation, grant writing, scientific presentations and time management. Emphasis is placed on the responsibility of the scientist to factually and thoroughly communicate results.