PREPARED Amsterdam Plenary

On 21-23 May 2024, 16 global partners and advisors from the PREPARED research ethics and research integrity consortium met at the Amsterdam University Medical Centre headquarters. Dr Michelle Singh, Project Officer, represented EDCTP at the meeting. Highlights included the launch of an interactive app for ethics in times of crisis, deliberation on the first draft of the PREPARED code for research conduct during pandemics, and the launch of a book on Vulnerability by Professor Doris Schroeder and colleagues. The book challenges the protection-inclusion dilemma in research ethics and presents a community engagement toolkit for leaving no one behind in research. A review of the book by Dr Singh, as well as a link to download the book, are available on the PREPARED website.

The interactive app for ethics in times of crisis launched at the meeting is designed to be informative and scientifically grounded whilst challenging the users to question their assumptions and potentially come to new conclusions. The app currently contains three case scenarios and one short course, ‘Ethics in 45 minutes’. In the case scenarios, you can reflect on human challenge trials, the use of AI in crisis situations and difficult decisions for research ethics committees during COVID-19. Over the Northern hemisphere summer, two more case studies and an additional short course called ‘The TRUST Code in 30 minutes’ will be added.