New Student Welcome and Orientation 2026 Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) at PENN Kurt A. Engleka (Ingelkay, hard g) (hehim) Adjunct Assistant Professor, Cell Dev Biol Director of Curriculum, BGS kenglekapennmedicine.upenn.edu
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Presentation Transcript
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New Student Welcome and Orientation
2026 Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) at PENN Kurt A. Engleka (Ingelkay, hard “g”) (he/him)
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Cell & Dev Biol
Director of Curriculum, BGS kengleka@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
orcid.org/0000-0001-5539-4076<br>
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Two Sides of Same Coin - either side you win - Mandate that research be ethically sound and of rigorous methodological quality. 2<br>
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Goals for today 3<br>
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What Are YOUR PRIMARY GOALs? 4<br>
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Research Misconduct 5<br>
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AI and Plagiarism Using content generated by AI systems in any context without providing clear and proper attribution of its origins is plagiarism. Researchers are responsible for accuracy, originality, citations, and disclosure of AI use. 6<br>
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AI and Confidentiality Data privacy and confidentiality: Loading personal or confidential data into, or training models on, such data Researchers are responsible for not disclosing sensitive information when using AI systems. 7<br>
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AI and False data Failure to mitigate AI-related errors and biases and recklessly disseminating false data. Researchers are responsible for identifying, describing, reducing, and controlling AI-related biases and random errors. 8<br>
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AI Resources at Penn 9<br>
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Research Misconduct 10<br>
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Research Misconduct Does not include honest error, differences of opinion 11<br>
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Unreliable Research … 12<br>
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Recognize and avoid
situations where research integrity violations are
tempting BE AWARE OF PITFALLS 13<br>
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TRAGEDIES Temptation
Getting my name on this article would look really good on my CV. Rationalization
It’s only a few data points, and those runs were flawed anyway. Ambition
The better the story we can tell, the better a journal we can go for. Group and Authority Pressure
The PI’s instructions don’t exactly match the protocol approved by the ethics review board, but she is the senior researcher. Entitlement
I’ve worked so hard on this, and I know this works, and I need to get this publication. Deception
I’m sure it would have turned out this way (if I had done it). Incrementalism
It’s only a single data point I’m excluding, and just this once. Embarrassment
I don’t want to look foolish for not knowing how to do this. Stupid Systems
It counts more if we divide the manuscript into three submissions instead of just one. 14<br>
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responsibly conduct research (RCR) THE IDEAS ARE NOT DIFFICULT TO FATHOM;
BUT THEY NEED TO BE MADE EXPLICIT 15<br>
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Shared values in Scientific research 16<br>
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areas that require Responsible Conduct Acquisition and Management of Data
Collaborative Science
Conflicts of Interest and Time
Mentoring
Peer Review
Research Misconduct
Responsible Authorship and Publication
Scientists as Responsible Members of Society
Use of Animals in Research
Use of Humans in Research ETHICAL QUESTIONS
CAN WILL ARISE
IN THESE
SUBJECT AREAS 17<br>
Confronting Misconduct If you observe misconduct or feel you are being pressured to perform misconduct, seek out a colleague who you trust and can assist you.
PI, senior lab member, faculty advisor, program administrator
Go up the chain step-by-step Science self-corrects so give involved scientists chances to remedy any disagreement. 23<br>
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Confronting Controversy If your work comes under scrutiny, you want to be the First to Fix 24 Be the first to address or take the lead in addressing<br>
