Leaders' Forums
CSC Science Policy Forum: Research Integrity
CIC Chair's Event: Science and Media
CSC Science Policy Forum: Research Integrity
Tuesday, June 1
12:20–14:00
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Room 103 A
All Conference participants are invited to attend this session on research integrity chaired by B. Mario Pinto, CSC vice-president.
Research integrity and research misconduct are critical subjects. Recent press releases on “rogue” researchers and questionable research practices have brought to the forefront the need to confront these topics directly. Management from within the academy is always preferred to impositions from external government agencies. The CSC Science Policy Forum will feature a frank discussion on questionable practices in research, with or without intent, and how faculty, students, university administrators and funding bodies could act to mitigate the risks. More importantly, practices by which the CSC could help instill a culture of research integrity within the academy will be explored.
Participants
Ronald Heslegrave, Chair, Ethics Board, University Health Network, University of Toronto
Ronald J. Heslegrave is an associate professor in the departments of Psychiatry, Public Health, School of Graduate Studies and the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto. Over the last 25 years he has served as a working scientist in a number of areas including the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance and the impact of medication on quality of life. However, for the last 14 years, he has been the chair of various research ethics boards in academic hospitals connected to the University of Toronto.
Tomas Hudlicky, Canada Research Chair, Brock University
Tomas Hudlicky received his BS in chemistry at Virginia Tech in 1973, and went on to pursue graduate studies at Rice University under the direction of Ernest Wenkert in the field of indole alkaloid total synthesis, earning his PhD in 1977. In 2003, after having held positions in the U.S., Hudlicky accepted an offer from Brock University where he currently holds a position as Canada Research Chair. Hudlicky has been concerned with the topic of research honesty and integrity in laboratory practices and has dedicated a chapter in his book to this topic. He has given workshops and seminars in this area, and serves as a role model for young chemists.
Brian C. Martinson, Senior Research Investigator, Health Partners Research Foundation (HPRF)
Brian C. Martinson is a senior research investigator with HealthPartners Research Foundation (HPRF) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As principal investigator, he has led two federally-funded research projects studying research integrity as it relates to perceptions of organizational justice. He is now co-leading a third federally-funded project validating and propagating an instrument for universities to use in assessing their research integrity climates. Martinson is currently collaborating with a consortium of universities involved in the Council of Graduate School’s Project on Scholarly Integrity. He is also serving as a member of an Expert Panel on Research Integrity convened by the Council of Canadian Academies at the request of Industry Canada.
CIC Chair's Event: Science and Media
Tuesday, June 1
14:20–16:00
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Room 103 A
Conference participants are invited to attend this panel discussion on science content in the mass media. It is chaired by Hadi Mahabadi, CIC chair.
One in five people is ‘science attentive’. This group actively seeks out science information from a variety of specialized sources, such as science-oriented television programs, magazines or websites. The other four in five people, the ‘non-science attentive’ public, obtain science information from the mass media only when science stories are published in daily newspapers or broadcast on the evening news. Both science specialists and media professionals face many challenges to get accurate and palatable science stories out to this majority through the mass media. Scientists and journalists have their own areas of expertise and they must meet halfway to deliver a quality product to the non-science attentive public.
Chair of the session: Hadi Mahabadi, vice-president and director of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada, and chair of the CIC
Presenters
Joe Schwarcz is director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. He is well known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of love to the science of aging. Schwarcz has received numerous awards for teaching chemistry and for interpreting science for the public.
Abstract: If you’re buying something that is “chemical-free,” you are not getting a good deal. And certainly the word “chemical” should not be equated to “toxin.” As chemists and chemical engineers it is our responsibility to increase the public’s understanding of our science.
Bob McDonald is a science journalist and The National’s chief science correspondent on CBC. He is also the host of a weekly radio science show, Quirks and Quarks, which draws approximately half a million listeners each week. He has been honoured many times for his contributions to the public awareness of science.
Abstract: What happens when a reporter pitches a story? Who makes the final decision on what gets aired? What does this person expect from the reporter? What amount of research is required at that stage? Answers to these questions and others can start to shed light on how scientists and reporters can work together.
Peter Calamai (BSc, Physics) worked as a correspondent and editor with the Southam company for 30 years, with postings to Ottawa, London (U.K.), Nairobi and Washington. As well from 1988 to 1998 he was the Toronto Star’s national science reporter based in Ottawa. In 1970 Calamai was a founding member of the Canadian Science Writers’ Association and is now a director of the new Science Media Centre of Canada.
Abstract: Non-specialist reporters are more and more asked to cover science, medicine and the environment, and they face many challenges in the process. The new Science Media Centre of Canada (SMCC) was created to help journalists report on stories in which science plays a central role.
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