The Association of American Medical Colleges, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, JAMA, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer hosted a symposium at the AAMC's headquarters (655 K Street NW, Washington, DC) on February 12, convening leaders from across the biomedical research community, including representatives from academic institutions, journals, publishers, professional associations and societies, government officials, industry, as well as conflicts of interest experts, ethicists, researchers and patient/public representatives. Symposium attendees participated in facilitated table discussions, outlining the actions needed to standardize the submission of financial interest disclosures by authors to journals, and the need to build greater transparency around journal disclosure requirements to foster a system that is clear and functional.
The symposium summary (below) provides a high-level synopsis of the key themes and recommendations discussed at the symposium. It also includes next steps the planning committee will take to engage the research community, including the immediate establishment of working groups on harmonization that will include members from a diverse cross section of the biomedical research community.
If you would like to participate in a working group, recommend another individual for participation, or receive more information about participation, please contact Daria Grayer (dgrayer@aamc.org, 202-741-5474).
Symposium Materials
Additional Resources
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Scientists Who Discredited Meat Guidelines Didn't Report Past Food Industry Ties (NY Times, 2019)
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The Integrity of our Research Depends on the Full Disclosure of Industry Relationships, Opinion by Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, AAMC President and CEO (AAMC News, 2018)
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Conflicts of Interests, Authors, and Journals - New Challenges for a Persistent Problem (JAMA, 2018); related: Conflict of Interest and Medical Journals (JAMA, 2017)
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Harmonizing Reporting on Potential Conflicts of Interest: A Common Disclosure Process for Health Care and Life Sciences, (Institute of Medicine Discussion Paper, 2012)
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Conflict of Interest in Medical Research Education, and Practice (Institute of Medicine Report, 2009) and concurrent JAMA Viewpoint Toward a Harmonized and Centralized Conflict of Interest Disclosure, Progress From an IOM Initiative (2012)
For questions regarding this initiative, please contact:
- Heather Pierce, Senior Director for Science Policy and Regulatory Counsel (hpierce@aamc.org)
- Daria Grayer, Senior Lead Specialist for Science Policy and Regulations (dgrayer@aamc.org)