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The NetEthics Educational Case Study Collection was developed as part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on "NetEthics: Building Tools & Training to Advance Responsible Conduct in Complex Research Networks Pioneering Novel technologies"(NSF award 2220611). This project has focused on the ethical challenges arising in large, multi-institutional, and frequently multidisciplinary research networks such as NSF-funded Engineering Research Centers (ERCs). This project developed educational case studies that research networks could use and adapt to foster consideration and understanding of key ethical issues arising in these networks. The case study collection aims to strengthen ethical reflection and responsible conduct of research (RCR) in these large and complex research networks. Such networks face unique ethical challenges that are not well addressed by traditional ethics frameworks, which tend to focus on either individual researcher responsibilities or broad societal impacts. The project team developed four educational case studies to support ethics and RCR at the network level. These case studies are fictional but address critical issues in collaborative research networks: (1) data sharing across the network, (2) credit and authorship in multi-team publications, (3) navigating ethics and regulatory frameworks, and (4) fostering effective collaboration within the network. We developed these cases by using analytic and empirical methods to identify key issues in network research. We then piloted a subset of cases in workshops with ERC participants, leading to refinements in all four cases. The cases are designed to be used easily – each case is succinct but can support rich discussion and reflection in a discussion session of an hour or more, either in person or virtually (e.g., through Zoom). These case studies aim to encourage discussion of ethical issues in network research, providing a tool that network participants and leaders can use to advance a culture and climate committed to ethical and responsible research. 

Not AvaiAs cryopreservation technologies continue to develop, the need for harmonized terminology across the multitude of disciplines where cryopreservation is applied is becoming increasingly acute. Terminology in cryopreservation remains inconsistent, leading to confusion and barriers to progress. Applications of cryopreservation in medicine, food, agriculture, and conservation remain limited by this lack of consensus. Inconsistent terminology contributes to ethical, legal, and societal issues in translating and integrating new cryopreservation technologies. Here we identify the problem with examples of cryopreservation terminology that demand harmonization. We describe the need for terminological consistency by providing examples of effective terminology harmonization projects in related fields. We propose next steps, highlighting the important role that professional societies should play to reach consensus on terminology among cryopreservation stakeholders and the broader cryobiology community.lable 

Scientific research increasingly involves large, multidisciplinary teams networked across multiple institutions to develop new technologies. Despite the rise of complex research networks and big team science, there has been little analysis to date of the ethical challenges facing these networks. The extensive literature on the ethical issues confronting individual researchers and small teams (the micro level) and on the larger societal challenges flowing from research and new technology (the macro level) leave a troubling gap in between, at the meso level of the research network involved in big team science. Yet the ability of complex networks to conduct research ethically – which is essential if the results are to be deemed reliable and trustworthy – depends on recognizing the ethical issues that emerge at this intermediate network level, identifying the values that should guide networks in addressing those issues, and equipping research leaders to build a culture supporting the ethical conduct of research across the laboratories and institutions that comprise the network. This paper calls out the problem, analyzing the gap and recommending next steps. 

Abstract The application of advanced biopreservation to organs donated for transplantation may make possible their indefinite storage and thereby improve the utility and equity they provide to patients. The technology is still at a preclinical stage, with many difficult, scientific issues that remain to be answered. At the moment, however, the actual capabilities of the technology are too indefinite to begin formulating the statutes, regulations, and ethical guidance that will be needed to obtain the benefits expected from its use. 

Abstract This article presents a framework of ethical analysis for anticipatory evaluation of advanced biopreservation technologies and employs the framework illustratively in three domains. The framework features four clusters of general ethical considerations: (1) Producing Benefits, Minimizing Harms, Balancing Benefits, Risk, and Costs; (2) Justice, Fairness, Equity; (3) Respect for Autonomy; and (4) Transparency, Trustworthiness, and Public Trust. 

Abstract Research on advanced biopreservation — technologies that include, for example, partial freezing, supercooling, and vitrification with nanoparticle infusion and laser rewarming — is proceeding at a rapid pace, potentially affecting many areas of medicine and the life sciences, food, agriculture, and environmental conservation. Given the breadth and depth of its medical, scientific, and corresponding social impacts, advanced biopreservation is poised to emerge as a disruptive technology with real benefits, but also ethical challenges and risks. Early engagement with potentially affected groups can help navigate possible societal barriers to adoption of this new technology and help ensure that emerging capabilities align with the needs, desires, and expectations of a broad range of interested parties. 

Organ transplantation remains the only treatment option for patients with end-stage organ failure. The last decade has seen a flurry of activity in improving organ preservation technologies, which promise to increase utilization in a dramatic fashion. They also bring the promise of extending the preservation duration significantly, which opens the doors to sharing organs across local and international boundaries and transforms the field. In this work, we review the recent literature on machine perfusion of livers across various protocols in development and clinical use, in the context of extending the preservation duration. We then review the next generation of technologies that have the potential to further extend the limits and open the door to banking organs, including supercooling, partial freezing, and nanowarming, and outline the opportunities arising in the field for researchers in the short and long term. 

Abstract Banking cryopreserved organs could transform transplantation into a planned procedure that more equitably reaches patients regardless of geographical and time constraints. Previous organ cryopreservation attempts have failed primarily due to ice formation, but a promising alternative is vitrification, or the rapid cooling of organs to a stable, ice-free, glass-like state. However, rewarming of vitrified organs can similarly fail due to ice crystallization if rewarming is too slow or cracking from thermal stress if rewarming is not uniform. Here we use “nanowarming,” which employs alternating magnetic fields to heat nanoparticles within the organ vasculature, to achieve both rapid and uniform warming, after which the nanoparticles are removed by perfusion. We show that vitrified kidneys can be cryogenically stored (up to 100 days) and successfully recovered by nanowarming to allow transplantation and restore life-sustaining full renal function in nephrectomized recipients in a male rat model. Scaling this technology may one day enable organ banking for improved transplantation.