B01 - PLENARY: Ethical Considerations With Healthy Research Participants: Current Perspectives From the Field

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The ethical considerations of research with healthy volunteers are distinct from research with patients in several ways. Unlike research with patients, where participants are often motivated by the prospect of direct benefit, healthy participants are usually motivated by either altruism or compensation. In addition, while there is a well-acknowledged lack of representation of minorities and underserved populations in clinical trials, many healthy volunteer trial participants are significantly composed of minority and underserved populations. A comprehensive consensus on the ethics of payment, maximum risk level, and potential exploitation of healthy volunteers remains elusive. This session features a conversation between experts in bioethics and research participants in two types of trials (Challenge Trials and Phase I Trials). Drawing on existing literature, personal experiences, and writing produced in tandem with other healthy participants, this conversation will open up dialogue about what the status quo gets right and wrong about the ethics of research with healthy volunteers, especially through the lenses of economic and racial justice. Particular attention will be given to the tensions between protection, justice, and autonomy in research oversight and the role of participant perspectives in shaping IRB decisions.