Local ethical review of research studies is essential if collaborative research is to be conducted between developing and developed countries. There is a need, therefore, to attract talented individuals in developing countries to bioethics and to equip them with the necessary skills. Few developing or developed country institutions provide training in ethical issues in international/transcultural research. The proposal then has two objectives: (1) to improve the quality of international ethics training through course development and skill development in teaching and research in bioethics; (2) to support advanced training for developing country professionals who could assume the roles and responsibilities of bioethicists in their country. Recruitment of fellows will be facilitated through a network of research institutions located throughout the developing world. Fellows will be in residence for one academic year at the Harvard School of Public Health before returning to their home institution for an additional year. Specifically the program proposes the following: 1. An academic year at Harvard University where there are over 17 courses related to bioethics. This will include a series of required courses and a specially designed year-long seminar series on ethical issues in international health research. Case-based courses will be emphasized. 2. Regular attendance at IRB's throughout the medical area. 3. A visit to the National Institutes of Health to be exposed to the ethical reviews at the NIH. 4. Development of a curriculum to be used in workshops in the fellows country. 5. Development and funding of a research proposal to be conducted in the fellow's country during the second year of the program. 6. Following completion of the research, a one-month workshop at the WHO that will emphasize data analysis and manuscript preparation and will review ethical issues faced by WHO in its research.
