Consensus
The U.S. medicolegal death investigation system is responsible for investigating and providing determinations of cause and manner of death, playing a vital role in the nation's public health and criminal justice systems. Recent, high-profile deaths in custody cases have drawn widespread attention to the determinations of cause and manner of death made by forensic pathologists, medical examiners, and coroners, and questions have been raised about the scientific validity of such determinations.
Strengthening the U.S. Medicolegal Death Investigation System: Lessons from Deaths in Custody evaluates the handling of deaths in police custody by the medicolegal death investigation system and recommends actions to strengthen the nation's medicolegal death investigation system.
204 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-99588-4
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-99586-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29232
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Strengthening the U.S. Medicolegal Death Investigation System: Lessons from Deaths in Custody. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Consensus
The U.S. scientific enterprise has produced countless discoveries that have led to significant advances in technology, health, security, safety, and economic prosperity. However, concern exists that excessive, uncoordinated, and duplicative policies and regulations surrounding research are hampering progress and jeopardizing American scientific competitiveness. Estimates suggest the typical U.S. academic researcher spends more than 40 percent of their federally funded research time on administrative and regulatory matters, wasting intellectual capacity and taxpayer dollars. Although administrative and regulatory compliance work can be vital aspects of research, the time spent by researchers on such activities continues to increase because of a dramatic rise in regulations, policies, and requirements over time.
To better ensure that the research community is maximally productive while simultaneously ensuring the safety, accountability, security, and ethical conduct of publicly funded research, Simplifying Research Regulations and Policies: Optimizing American Science examines current federal research regulations. This report identifies ways to improve regulatory processes and administrative tasks, reduce or eliminate unnecessary work, and modify and remove policies and regulations that have outlived their purpose while maintaining necessary and appropriate integrity, accountability, and oversight. Simplifying Research Regulations provides a roadmap for establishing a more agile and resource-effective regulatory framework for federally funded research.
142 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-99579-5
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-99580-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29231
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Simplifying Research Regulations and Policies: Optimizing American Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Research shows that sexual harassment can cause harm to not only the survivor of sexual harassment but also the person accused of the harassing behavior and the community in which the harassment has occurred. Given many institutions' primary focus on compliance processes and relative lack of attention to addressing the harm experienced by different individuals as a result of the harassment, there is a pressing need for work that elucidates the resources that currently exist and the resources that are still needed to address that harm.
Synthesizing research, case studies, and archival data from the Action Collaborative's repository of novel work on the topic, this paper explores the harms that can occur as a result of sexual harassment at institutions of higher education, and the resources that exist to remedy those harms. The paper reviews how, at a high level, these laws, policies, and regulations may influence what the remediation of sexual harm can entail, including a brief history of how institutions have approached their remediation efforts in the past, followed by a discussion of the current landscape of efforts to assist various individuals harmed directly or indirectly by sexual harassment over the course of the institutional response process.
76 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-09929-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29095
Frasca, T., Alvarado, I., Bühlmann, P., and Hutchison, E. 2025. Identifying Gaps in Sexual Harassment Remediation Efforts in Higher Education: Issue Paper. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
On April 7-8, 2025, the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop in Washington, D.C., titled "Implications of Recent Supreme Court Decisions for Agency Decision-Making." The major impetus for the workshop was the Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled the principle of Chevron deference. This principle was the product of a 1984 case, Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., in which the Supreme Court directed courts to defer to reasonable interpretations made by executive agencies on ambiguous aspects of the laws they implement. Related to the Court's Loper Bright decision is a principle known as the major questions doctrine, which holds that Congress may not delegate to agencies decisions that are unheralded, transformative, and/or have major political or economic consequences without clear authorization. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-99417-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29169
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Implications of Law, Policy, and Federal Agency Decision-Making Under a New Judicial Standard: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
The funding and incentivizing model for research and development has evolved rapidly within the past decade, with philanthropy playing an increasingly significant role alongside government, university, and industry partnerships to accelerate discovery and innovation. Traditional academic research processes are inadequate to facilitate a rapid transition to real-world applications and markets—and growing national security concerns have affected how universities participate in the innovation ecosystem. On October 15–16, 2024, members and guests of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Government-University-Industry-Philanthropy Research Roundtable convened in Washington, DC, to consider these and related questions. These questions included how collaborations across sectors are shaped by research environments and culture, how to overcome barriers, and how to incentivize risk-taking to address urgent societal technology challenges. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the event.
12 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-99184-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29121
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Incentivizing Urgency, Speed, and Scale to Support Future U.S. Innovation: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Postdoctoral scholars are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment because of their early career stage, a lack of clear institutional policies, and dyadic relationships with their advisors, among other factors. Recent surveys and listening sessions have reiterated this issue, indicating that workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination are chief concerns to postdoctoral scholars and that power imbalances are a cross-cutting theme contributing to harassment, bullying, and questionable behaviors by mentors and principal investigators. It is within environments of generalized disrespect and incivility that much sexual harassment occurs.
This issue paper builds on the findings and recommendations in the 2018 report Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine by providing more information related to implementing the report’s recommendation to diffuse the hierarchical and dependent relationships between faculty and their trainees (e.g., students, postdoctoral fellows, residents). Through this paper, individual scholars, higher education leaders, and practitioners from the Action Collaborative’s Response Working Group describe key institutional considerations and challenges in supporting postdoctoral scholars experiencing sexual harassment in higher education.
84 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-73295-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/28852
Gary, S., A. Allison, S. Burton, C. Cuthbert-Martinez, L. J. McKown, and S. Rankin. 2025. Considerations for Supporting Postdoctoral Scholars Experiencing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education: Issue Paper. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop
Research leaders overseeing laboratories, centers, and collaborations have an opportunity to build and promote a culture of research excellence, integrity, and trust. At the same time, the conduct of science becomes more complex, societal demands become more explicit, and the challenges facing these leaders are myriad. Beyond the complexities of overseeing and executing innovative science, they must navigate an expanding set of roles, responsibilities, and expectations, including managing the evolving landscape of research integrity, data management, open science, mentorship, and technology.
To explore the range of roles and evolving responsibilities taken on by research leaders, especially those who lead cross-disciplinary and/or multi-institutional teams, the National Academies' Strategic Council for Research Excellence, Integrity, and Trust convened a workshop on December 4-5, 2023. Presentations and discussion of the workshop focused on scientific leadership to examine available responsible conduct of research (RCR) resources and the broad span of roles for research leaders, especially those who direct laboratories, centers, departments, or collaborations. Participants also explored the evolving needs of research leaders in a changing societal landscape, especially in terms of their roles in upholding RCR, navigating new oversight frameworks, and training the next generation of scientists. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
122 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-72547-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-72548-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27935
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. On Leading a Lab: Strengthening Scientific Leadership in Responsible Research: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
The COVID-19 pandemic raised challenging legal and policy issues - as reflected in numerous, often inconsistent, health-related decisions made in the United States at the national, state, and local level and in COVID-related judicial opinions issued after the onset of the pandemic. The response to the pandemic provides an opportunity to consider whether federal, state, and local governments had the necessary authority to deal with the crisis, how authority was applied, whether there was sufficient clarity as to responsibility, and what should be changed for the future.
On May 30-31, 2024, an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on Science, Technology, and Law convened a virtual workshop to examine the allocation of responsibility among levels of government when dealing with a public health crisis; the extent to which federal, state, and local governments have the necessary authority to act; whether there is sufficient clarity as to which levels of government are responsible for particular actions; and lessons that can be learned from the pandemic to inform government responses to pandemics in the future.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-72874-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/28023
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Optimizing Federal, State, and Local Responses to Public Health Emergencies: Lessons from COVID: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
The online information environment enables the global exchange of information and ideas, but it also contributes to the proliferation of disinformation. Online platforms operate at a scale where human-based content moderation to counter disinformation is impractical or at least very expensive and where purely technical solutions are challenging because content is often context-dependent. The speed, scale, and complexity of this ecosystem suggests that solutions are needed that consider the global nature of disinformation and effectively blend technical and human capabilities.
On April 10 and 11, 2024, an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on Science, Technology, and Law convened a virtual workshop to consider practicable solutions to counter online disinformation, particularly in social media. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-72790-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27997
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Evolving Technological, Legal, and Social Solutions to Counter Online Disinformation: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
The Roundtable on Aligning Incentives for Open Scholarship of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine brings together stakeholders to discuss the effectiveness of current incentives for adopting open scholarship practices, barriers to adoption, and ways to move forward. On June 26, 2023, the Roundtable convened a virtual workshop to hear from a range of stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities in expanding open scholarship, with a focus on the impact of recent U.S. government initiatives to open the research ecosystem and broaden access to publicly-funded research. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.
8 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-72081-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27801
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Promoting Equitable and Inclusive Implementation of Open Scholarship Policies: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
On April 20, 2023, the Board on Research Data and Information of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to bring together stakeholders to explore new initiatives to support FAIR (findable-accessible-interoperable-reusable) data sharing, as well as the need for innovative approaches, potential obstacles to success, and how obstacles might be overcome. Participants included researchers and representatives from institutions, federal agencies, private funders, and professional societies.
7 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71956-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27786
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Accelerating and Deepening Approaches to FAIR Data Sharing: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Consensus
Facial recognition technology is increasingly used for identity verification and identification, from aiding law enforcement investigations to identifying potential security threats at large venues. However, advances in this technology have outpaced laws and regulations, raising significant concerns related to equity, privacy, and civil liberties.
This report explores the current capabilities, future possibilities, and necessary governance for facial recognition technology. Facial Recognition Technology discusses legal, societal, and ethical implications of the technology, and recommends ways that federal agencies and others developing and deploying the technology can mitigate potential harms and enact more comprehensive safeguards.
160 pages
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8.5 x 11
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-71320-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71321-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27397
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Facial Recognition Technology: Current Capabilities, Future Prospects, and Governance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
The National Academies hosted a hybrid public workshop in Fall 2023, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, to explore approaches that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies could consider as they develop or update policies to enhance public access to the results of HHS-funded research. Workshop participants discussed how policy changes would promote equity in publication opportunities for investigators, provide ways to improve accessibility to publications by diverse communities of users, and increase findability and transparency of research results.
14 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71575-X
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27480
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Enhancing Public Access to the Results of Research Supported by the Department of Health and Human Services: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
Accelerated approval provides a process for hastening access to innovative interventions for patients with serious or life-threatening diseases for which no other options are available. However, accelerated approval has been, at times, controversial due to uncertainties related to whether pharmaceuticals approved under the accelerated approval pathway, which relies on surrogate endpoints rather than a direct measure of clinical benefit, have met the same standards for safety and efficacy as drugs approved under the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) traditional approval pathway and whether the pathway has been used for products for which it was not intended. On January 30-31, 2023, an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Science, Technology, and Law hosted a virtual workshop to examine the FDA accelerated approval program, one of several pathways designed to facilitate and expedite the development and review of new pharmaceuticals. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-70482-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27103
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. The Food and Drug Administration's Accelerated Approval Process for New Pharmaceuticals: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
On November 14 and 15, 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a two-day workshop under the auspices of the National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable to assess the state of the U.S. research enterprise in a time of increasing global competition. The workshop also featured discussion of the challenges confronting researchers as they seek to ensure the vitality of research and innovation in America, foster increased international scientific research cooperation, and simultaneously counter illicit foreign interference that threatens national security interests. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.
6 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-70438-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27091
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Openness, International Engagement, and the Federally Funded Science and Technology Research Enterprise: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
The Roundtable on Aligning Incentives for Open Scholarship at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convenes critical stakeholders to discuss the effectiveness of current incentives for adopting open scholarship practices, current barriers of all types, and ways to move forward in order to align reward structures and institutional values in advancing open scholarship. The Roundtable convened a workshop on December 5, 2022 so that members of three groups formed in conjunction with the Roundtable - comprised of higher education institutions, professional societies, and funders to engage the broader communities - could share updates on their activities and plans. Representatives from federal agencies also discussed their plans and priorities for advancing open scholarship, both ongoing and in accordance with guidance on Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research issued in August 2022 by the Office of Science and Technology Policy. This publication highlights the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-70594-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27133
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Stakeholder Actions to Implement Open Scholarship: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
On September 22 and 23, 2022, an ad hoc planning committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Science, Technology, and Law hosted a virtual workshop, Brain-Machine and Related Neural Interface Technologies: Scientific, Technical, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues. In addition to exploring what these technologies offer now, what is not possible with these technologies, and what may be possible with these technologies in the future, the workshop considered the implications of these technologies for user autonomy, data privacy, and equity and access, while touching briefly on potential gaps in U.S. regulatory oversight. A key goal of the workshop was to understand the scientific, ethical, legal, and social questions that the technologies raise for researchers, funding agencies, regulators, patients, and the public. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-69778-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26835
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Brain-Machine and Related Neural Interface Technologies: Scientific, Technical, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Consensus
U.S. leadership in technology innovation is central to our nation's interests, including its security, economic prosperity, and quality of life. Our nation has created a science and technology ecosystem that fosters innovation, risk taking, and the discovery of new ideas that lead to new technologies through robust collaborations across and within academia, industry, and government, and our research and development enterprise has attracted the best and brightest scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs from around the world. The quality and openness of our research enterprise have been the basis of our global leadership in technological innovation, which has brought enormous advantages to our national interests.
In today's rapidly changing landscapes of technology and competition, however, the assumption that the United States will continue to hold a dominant competitive position by depending primarily on its historical approach of identifying specific and narrow technology areas requiring controls or restrictions is not valid. Further challenging that approach is the proliferation of highly integrated and globally shared platforms that power and enable most modern technology applications.
To review the protection of technologies that have strategic importance for national security in an era of openness and competition, Protecting U.S. Technological Advantage considers policies and practices related to the production and commercialization of research in domains critical to national security. This report makes recommendations for changes to technology protection policies and practices that reflect the current realities of how technologies are developed and incorporated into new products and processes.
144 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-69130-3
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-69131-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26647
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Protecting U.S. Technological Advantage. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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