Fogarty-Funded Research Ethics Training Programs in Eastern Europe

Low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Eastern Europe are attractive to global companies as sites for clinical trials, but there are gaps in research oversight and limited in-country expertise in research ethics, raising concerns that research participants may be at risk of exploitation and harm. Three NIH Fogarty International Center-funded research ethics training programs in Eastern Europe address these gaps, developed by partnerships between: the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) in New York and the Medical Faculty at the University of Belgrade in Serbia; ISMMS and the Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania; and Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine, and Loyola University Chicago. Here we provide an overview of the health systems and research activity in the region as well as the rationales, aims, accomplishments, and future needs of these Master's (Serbia and Romania) and doctoral-level (Ukraine) research ethics training programs.