通过参与医学研究，个人可以帮助发展通用知识，并增进我们对人类健康和生理的理解。这项研究大部分使参与者有遭受他人伤害的潜在危险。杜克大学的研究人员正在寻找方法，在促进科学进步的同时，最好地保护研究参与者。这些教职人员研究人类学科研究的伦理，参与者的权利，儿童的权利，国际研究伦理，知情同意的理论，研究中的利益冲突以及补偿与强制之间的平衡。
Through participation in medical research, individuals help develop generalizable knowledge and improve our understanding of human health and physiology. Much of this research puts participants at risk of potential harm for the good of others. Duke researchers are addressing ways to best protect research participants while promoting scientific advancement. These faculty members study the ethics of human subject research, participant rights, children's rights, international research ethics, theories of informed consent, conflicts of interest in research, and the balance between compensation and coercion.