Trust in Science: Under Assault!

There is evidence that confidence in science and associated sources of information has been eroding. Many factors may be seen as having contributed to this alarming trend, resulting in difficulty in distinguishing integrity and reliability of information.

Some of this is self-inflicted, caused by fraud, misrepresentation, and unintended errors. In some cases, desperate circumstances resulted in desperate measures, and in the context of a global health crisis (e.g., COVID-19), there were pressures which exacerbated these factors, fostering wild theories and science denialism through unfettered on-line platforms.

We will discuss some of these factors and influences on the public perception of, and trust in empirical science.

Art Gertel, MedSciCom, LLC

Art has a background in neurophysiology and behavioural medicine. As an independent consultant, he specialises in regulatory strategy, Data Safety Monitoring Board management, medical writing, and bioethics. Art has held senior posts at a number of companies including Schering-Plough/Merck, Hoffmann-LaRoche, TFS, and Quintiles, and headed departments responsible for medical writing, publications, project management, and regulatory affairs. He also served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Sciences (CIRS). Art has extensive teaching experience and has presented to professional organisations (e.g. EMWA, AMWA, DIA), and corporate and academic audiences, worldwide. He spent 2 years heading Clinical Operations for an eDC ‘dot.com’ company, and has been active in Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) since its inception. He served as Chair of the Global Ethics and Regulatory Initiative (GERI) of the Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES). He is a Founding Member of the Global Alliance of Publication Professionals (GAPP), a Past President of AMWA, and a Fellow of both AMWA and EMWA. Art served in a Senior Advisory capacity on the Budapest Working Group in developing the CORE Reference. He has a particular interest in bioethics in the context of clinical studies, is an adviser to an IRB, and serves on a number of task forces focusing on improving the drug development process while protecting the rights and safety of clinical study participants.