Postdocs and Early Career Programs

Responsible Conduct of Research Training (RCR)

Postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty with career development awards are welcome to participate in Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) training.

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Responsible Conduct of Research Training (RCR)

Postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty with career development awards are welcome to participate in Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) training.

The Division of Biology & Medicine, along with most of the agencies that sponsor biomedical research, require instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research. This training takes place at various intervals throughout a researcher’s career. The NIH requires that this training includes "substantial face-to-face discussions."

Postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty with career development awards should select the RCR training opportunity that is most appropriate for their experience level and funding type. The opportunities listed below meet NIH and NSF RCR requirements.

RCR Training Opportunities

RCR Advanced Training

The Office of Graduate Studies offers a more advanced ethics training for postdoctoral researchers and fourth-year pre-doctoral students in the Division of Biology and Medicine that satisfies the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) requirements for the Responsible Conduct of Research. The course comprises three in-person sessions lasting 3h each and is offered twice per academic year, once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester. To complete this training, trainees must attend all sessions of a cycle.

Fall Advanced RCR dates:
November 5, November 12, and November 19, 9 am to 12 noon

Spring Advanced RCR dates:
April 1, April 8, and April 15, 9 am to 12 noon

Research Integrity Series for Junior Faculty

Co-sponsored by the Advance RI-CTR, BioMed offers a Research Integrity Series as part of Brown's Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training available to all junior faculty. Postdocs funded through K-awards are also welcome to take this series. The goal of this series is to provide attendees with the opportunity to review and discuss the most current and pressing matters related to research integrity and scientific misconduct with senior faculty and experts in the field. Sessions will be held monthly (October-May) from 3:30 - 5 pm covering topics such as Rigor & Reproducibility, Research Misconduct, Mentorship, Data Management, and Responsible Authorship. Sessions will be held on Brown's main campus or Zoom. For more information, please contact Audra Van Wart, Associate Dean for Training and Program Development. View the Brown Research Integrity Series for Faculty 2025-2026 syllabus.

Additional RCR Training

Brown BEARCORE

The Brown Ethics And Responsible Conduct Of Research Education (BEARCORE) program is an 8 hour in-person RCR training program offered by the Office of the Vice President for Research that fulfills NIH and NSF requirements. BEARCORE educates researchers from a variety of departments and academic fields on how to conduct their scientific investigations responsibly and with integrity.

While BEARCORE is used primarily by campus-based trainees, it is open to anyone in the Brown community who is working or listed as an investigator on an RCR qualifying research grant that is administered through Brown. If you have questions about BEARCORE, please email Torrey Truszkowski.

Resources for Research Ethics

The following offices have expertise in ethical issues in research: