SACHRP debates how to best educate PIs; carrot, stick approaches considered.(Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections)(principal investigators)

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- At the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) meeting here April 19, many speakers and SACHRP members expressed concern about the lack of consistent training for PIs, potential solutions and the need to attract more bright minds to research. Most agreed that many principal investigators having no training at all, which means that methods to properly train prospective and existing PIs must be implemented.

Discussion involved a variety of possible solutions, and no one solution was agreed upon. "I think by the number of discussions here, there is clearly not a straightforward answer," said David LePay, M.D., director of FDA's Office of Good Clinical Practices. "But basic research education has to be at an early stage and part of the …