Research Ethics and Oversight
Currently, I am leading a SSHRC-funded project on the topic of community involvement in research ethics oversight. This project involves an examination of the demands, justifications, and strategies of various communities who seek to have a greater voice in governing the research that impacts them. In April of 2022, we organized an event celebrating some of the phenomenal examples of community-led research governance in Canada, particularly in Indigenous and urban communities – you can watch the videos of the presentations in English (Part 1/ Part 2) or French (Part 1/ Part 2) and read a summary of the discussion (Eng & Fr) here.
I have also worked on a variety of collaborative projects related to research ethics and oversight, including an evaluation of the Belmont Report in relation to the state of research ethics today, an examination of issues faced by the many novel regulatory bodies (e.g., conflict of interest committees, data safety monitoring boards) that have been developed in in the realm of research oversight, and a discussion of how research ethics and oversight ought to proceed in response to developing neurotechnologies. Recently, I have been thinking about how new forms of research, especially those utilizing machine learning and especially in the domain of psychiatry, challenge our current systems of research ethics oversight.

Representative Papers: ​
· Doerksen, E., Gunay, A., Neufeld, S., Friesen, P., (2024) Community-led approaches to research governance: A scoping review of strategies. Research Ethics.
Friesen, P., Kearns, L., Redman, B., & Caplan, A. L. (2017). Rethinking the Belmont Report? American Journal of Bioethics.(target article)
Recent/ Forthcoming Papers: ​
· Clairmont, S., Doerksen, E., Gunay, A., Friesen, P., (2025) (Epistemic) Injustice and resistance in Canadian research ethics governance. Ethics and Human Research. (accepted May 14, 2024)
· Gunay, A., Doerksen, E., Friesen, P. (2023) Community Research Ethics Oversight: Place, Experience, and Expertise. Ethical Issues in Stakeholder-Engaged Health Research. Springer, Eds. Anderson, E.
· Friesen, P., Luke Gelinas, Aaron Kirby, David H Strauss, Barbara E Bierer (2022) IRBs and The Protection-Inclusion Dilemma: Finding a Balance. American Journal of Bioethics (target article)
Recent/ Upcoming Talks:
· “Community-Led Research Governance: What Can We Learn from Grassroots Approaches?” (Oct 4th) CAREB-ACCER Addressing Anti-Black Racism in Research Ethics Practice Fireside Chat series (with Gunay, A. and Doerksen, E.)