Use of Human Subjects in Research  

Course Introduction  

Background    

A series of abuses of research subjects came to public attention in the U.S. between 1953 and 1972, including the infamous Tuskegee Study, on the natural history of syphilis, conducted by Public Health Service employees.

These cases led some people to conclude that researchers should not be trusted to conduct studies involving humans.

More information about historical research cases, and the evolution of principles and regulations related to the protection of human research subjects, can be found in the HISTORY module of this tutorial.