Research geared toward specific groups/individuals.

Research geared toward specific groups/individuals

One drug was approved for one race

As studies become geared toward narrow research questions, targeting specific groups, IRB members will have an even more challenging time resolving ethical dilemmas and weighing risks and benefits.

Going back to the Belmont Report, one of the tenants of research is that society as a whole will share in the risks and benefits of studies, says Heather Butts, JD, MPH, regulatory specialist at Columbia University in New York, NY.

At the same time, investigators have been wary of including vulnerable populations in research, Butts says.

It's a balancing act between the fear that there could be greater risks or the understanding that these same individuals should not be excluded from research that might benefit them.

But that is the old dilemma. The …