February 25, 2024

Privileged Logics 2024: Interrogating Foundations             and Practices in Research Ethics

A one-day conference funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in                    cooperation with the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE)                                 

Privileged Logics 2024 was a one-day conference on February 25, 2024, that examined the foundations of privilege in STEM research and research ethics, explored promising practices, and inspired us to redefine research quality, research ethics, and opportunity in STEM fields. The conference was held from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati. The conference was funded by the National Science Foundation (Award Number 2316197).

Why was this conference important?

Privilege is a complex and often invisible system of power that advantages some groups and disadvantages others. In STEM research, privilege can manifest in many ways, such as through biases in journal peer review, funding decisions, and hiring practices. This can create barriers for underrepresented groups and prevent them from fully participating in and contributing to STEM research.

Privileged Logics 2024 provided a space for researchers, educators, and other stakeholders to come together to learn about privilege in STEM research and ethics and to identify strategies for addressing it.

Who attended?

Privileged Logics 2024 was open to all members of the STEM and responsible conduct in research (RCR) education communities interested in learning about and addressing privilege in STEM research and RCR training. This included researchers; RCR educators; research compliance officers; and other stakeholders.

Keynote speaker: Dr. Sarina Saturn  

Dr. Saturn is a neuroscientist, educator, researcher, mentor, and community builder devoted to health equity, social justice, and belonging for LGBTQ2SIA, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), women, and people with disabilities. Her expertise centers on intersectional advocacy, anti-racism, feminism, and the neuroscience and psychology underlying emotions, intergenerational trauma, coping, healing, and post-traumatic growth.

Dr. Saturn is currently the director of strategic partnerships at OEA Choice Trust and editor of the ADVANCE Journal for Individual and Institutional Transformation for Social Justice. She has extensive education and research experience as an associate professor at the University of Portland and Oregon State University, as a community research evaluation scientist at the Multnomah County Health Department and Oregon Health Authority, and as a presenter and facilitator to diverse audiences.

Conference highlights: 

• Examined the foundations of privilege and its impact on STEM research and responsible conduct in research (RCR) education.
• Participants contributed ideas regarding: strategies for dismantling privilege associated with widely used metrics for success in research; leveraging learning communities for developing allyships and advocating for institutional change; and designing research ethics training modules that center privilege.
• An outcome of the conference is to generate a toolkit of best practices for participants and others to begin to use in training on research ethics that would improve the scientific environment.  
• Networked and brainstormed with members of the STEM and RCR communities interested in developing a standard ethical and responsible research (ER2) proposal to generate new topics in ER2 and new standards for STEM research and RCR training.
• See the full program!
• Read the summary!
• Check out our curated resources!