Uncovering Hidden Bias in Clinical Research

Check the end of any recent study, and there will be a list of study funders and disclosures about competing interests. It’s important to know about potential biases in research, but this kind of transparency was not always the norm. Understanding bias in research and helping policymakers use the most reliable evidence to guide their decisions is a science in itself.

Lisa Bero, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, has been at the forefront of understanding how corporate funding biases research and how to assess what scientific evidence is reliable. She talks to host Monya Baker about her investigations into the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries, techniques industries use to shape evidence to favor their products, and the importance of independent research to inform policy. 

Resources: 

• Read The Cigarette Papers to learn more about Lisa Bero and others’ investigations of the tobacco industry. 

• See this analysis of industry documents about insider knowledge of health effects of PFAS and related chemicals. 

• Visit the Cochrane Library to find more systematic reviews of clinical research. 

• Learn more about Adrian Traeger’s investigation of spinal cord stimulation research by reading Corporate Influences on Science and Health—the Case of Spinal Cord Stimulation.

• Read Lisa Bero’s summary of how industry forces suppress unfavorable research. 

• Lisa Bero and others are developing a tool to screen for signs of fraud in clinical research. Learn more about it in The Conversation.