Research Integrity and Scholarly Excellence Lecture Series features health policy and medical decision-making expert

The Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance in the Office for Research and Innovation is hosting its fall lecture in the Research Integrity and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Lecture Series: Reproducibility and Replicability in Science on Sept. 16 at noon. This year marks the second year of the RISE Lecture Series.

Invited guest speaker Harvey V. Fineberg, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, will discuss the importance of reproducibility and replicability in science. Fineberg, former president of the National Academy of Medicine, chaired the National Academies committee on this topic, which resulted in a widely referenced report that features the committee’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations. 

The event is open to the Virginia Tech community and will be held on Zoom. Register to attend the virtual event.

Prior to joining the philanthropic foundation, Fineberg devoted most of his academic career to the fields of health policy and medical decision-making. His past research has focused on global health, assessment of medical technology, evaluation and use of vaccines, and dissemination of medical innovations.

Fineberg's research has focused on several areas of health policy, including the process of policy development and implementation, assessment of medical technology, and dissemination of medical innovations. He has examined the controversial federal immunization program against swine flu, the adverse effects of pertussis and rubella vaccines, the cost-effectiveness of cardiac care, and the reform of medical education.

Many of Fineberg's research interests relate to the processes of decision making in medical care, public health practice, and health policy. He has been involved in a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of BCG, a vaccine to prevent tuberculosis. With colleagues, he pursued an analysis of policy options in dealing with the HIV epidemic and tuberculosis prevention and control.

Fineberg has contributed to understanding of the ethical and social implications of new medical technologies where rapid advances in technical capacities often outpace individual and collective capacity for judgment about the use of technology. 

Previously held roles include president of the U.S. Institute of Medicine, now National Academy of Medicine; provost at Harvard University; and dean of the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. 

He holds doctoral and medical degrees from Harvard University.

In February 2021, the RISE Lecture Series featured guest speaker Ming Jack Po, a product manager at Google working in health care and machine learning. Po shared his experiences about the impact of bias on machine learning, specifically in the development of systems that can lead to unjust application of automated decision-making tools, reduce accuracy of facial recognition algorithms, and reduce validity of research data. Recognizing the potential for bias in machine learning can help universities mitigate the impact of bias on future systems. Watch the presentation.

About the Research Integrity and Scholarly Excellence series

Each semester, the Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance invites a notable scholar or subject matter expert to share their ideas on ethical issues that are shaping the future of scholarship and the research enterprise. The goal of the RISE Lecture Series is to foster ethical scholarship, explore a diversity of perspectives about the roles and responsibilities of scholars and researchers, and reflect on the ethical impact of our work in the modern world.